The Polish Democratic Society ( pl, Towarzystwo Demokratyczne Polskie or TDP) was a radical

constitutionalist Constitutionalism is "a compound of ideas, attitudes, and patterns of behavior elaborating the principle that the authority of government derives from and is limited by a body of fundamental law". Political organizations are constitutional ...

political organization established in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

by émigrés from the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Królestwo Polskie; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a state in Central Europe. It may refer to: Historical political entities *Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1025 to 1031 *Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom exist ...

in 1832. While not explicitly

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

with respect to their political program, the Democratic Society nonetheless was influenced by French

Utopian socialist Utopian socialism is the term often used to describe the first current of modern socialism and socialist thought as exemplified by the work of Henri de Saint-Simon, Charles Fourier, Étienne Cabet, and Robert Owen. Utopian socialism is often de ...

thinking of the era and advocated the right of citizens to own land or other means of production. The Polish Democratic Society continued in existence into the decade of the 1840s, when it was a leading voice for agrarian revolution in Galicia. It is recognized as a forerunner of the Polish socialist movement which culminated in the establishment of the

Communist Party of Poland The interwar Communist Party of Poland ( pl, Komunistyczna Partia Polski, KPP) was a communist party active in Poland during the Second Polish Republic. It resulted from a December 1918 merger of the Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland a ...

Organizational history

Establishment

The Polish Democratic Society (TDP) was established in the

in March 1832.M.K. Dziewanowski, ''The Communist Party of Poland.'' Second edition. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1976; pg. 3. The first program of the TDP, a so-called "Small Manifesto," was adopted on March 17, 1832, in

by a pair of the group's founders,

Tadeusz Krępowiecki ''Tadeusz'' is a Polish language, Polish first name, derived from Thaddeus, Thaddaeus. Tadeusz may refer to: * Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski (1895–1966), Polish military leader * Tadeusz Borowski (1922–1951), Polish writer and The Holocaust survivo ...

and Aleksandr Puławski.''Encyklopedia Powszechna PWN'' (Universal Encyclopedia PWN). Third Edition. Warsaw: State Publishing House, 1987; pp. 514-515. These individuals traced their organizational roots to earlier activity in the Polish National Committee established in 1831.

Program

The TDP argued for the need of drastic reforms in reconstituted Poland and published an official newspaper, ''Demokrata Polski'' (The Polish Democrat). The group gained support for its cause through its official slogan, "Everything by the People and for the People." In 1846, some members of the Polish Democratic Society participated in the

Kraków uprising The Kraków uprising (Polish: ''powstanie krakowskie'', ''rewolucja krakowska''; German: ''Krakauer Aufstand''; Russian: ''краковское восстание'') of 1846 was an attempt, led by Polish insurgents such as Jan Tyssowski and Edw ...

. Other notable activists included Stanisław Worcell and

Ludwik Mierosławski Ludwik Adam Mierosławski (; January 17, 1814 in Nemours, Seine-et-Marne – November 22, 1878 in Paris) was a Polish general, writer, poet, historian and political activist. Took part in the November Uprising of the 1830s, after its fall he emig ...

Termination

The TDP was eventually disbanded in 1862.

Footnotes

{{Authority control 1832 establishments in Poland 1862 disestablishments in Europe 1830s in Poland Great Emigration 1840s in Poland Political parties established in 1832 Political parties disestablished in 1862

Organizational history

Establishment

Program

Termination

See also

Footnotes