The Friends of the Constitution ( pl, Zgromadzenie Przyjaciół Konstytucji Rządowej) was the first modern Polish

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

(with a charter and organizational discipline), formed in May 1791, shortly after the adoption of the

Constitution of 3 May 1791 The Constitution of 3 May 1791,; lt, Gegužės trečiosios konstitucija titled the Governance Act, was a constitution adopted by the Great Sejm ("Four-Year Sejm", meeting in 1788–1792) for the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, a dual mo ...

, by the efforts of the

Patriotic Party , colorcode = #E4433E , leader1_title = Leaders , leader1_name = Ignacy PotockiAdam Kazimierz Czartoryski Stanisław Małachowski , foundation = , dissolution = , headquarters = Kraków , ideology = Pro-ReformConstitution ...

. The purpose of the Friends of the Constitution was to defend the reformed

political system In political science, a political system means the type of political organization that can be recognized, observed or otherwise declared by a state. It defines the process for making official government decisions. It usually comprizes the govern ...

and to introduce further reforms."''Zgromadzenie Przyjaciół Konstytucji Rządowej''" ("Society of Friends of the Constitution"), ''Encyklopedia Powszechna PWN'', vol.4, Warsaw, ''

Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN (''Polish Scientific Publishers PWN''; until 1991 ''Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe'' - ''National Scientific Publishers PWN'', PWN) is a Polish book publisher, founded in 1951, when it split from the Wydawnictwa Szkolne i P ...

'', 1976, p. 785. The party's leading members included

Hugo Kołłątaj Hugo Stumberg Kołłątaj, also spelled ''Kołłątay'' (pronounced , 1 April 1750 – 28 February 1812), was a prominent Polish constitutional reformer and educationalist, and one of the most prominent figures of the Polish Enlightenment. He se ...

Ignacy Potocki Count Roman Ignacy Potocki, generally known as Ignacy Potocki (; 1750–1809), was a Polish nobleman, member of the influential magnate Potocki family, owner of Klementowice and Olesin (near Kurów), a politician, writer, and office holder. H ...

Tadeusz Mostowski Tadeusz Antoni Mostowski (19 October 1766, Warsaw - 6 December 1842, Paris) was a Polish people, Polish writer, journalist, literary critic and politician. Biography He was the son of , a noted military commander. He was raised in an intellectu ...

Michał Ossowski Michał () is a Polish and Sorbian form of Michael and may refer to: * Michał Bajor (born 1957), Polish actor and musician * Michał Chylinski (born 1986), Polish basketball player * Michał Drzymała (1857–1937), Polish rebel * Michał Heller ...

and Józef Weyssenhof. The Friends of the Constitution published a periodical, ''Gazeta Narodowa i Obca'' (''The National and Foreign Gazette'').

History

In the name "''Zgromadzenie Przyjaciół Konstytucji Rządowej''", the expression "''zgromadzenie''" may be rendered in English as "gathering", "assembly" or "congress". Jan Stanisławski, ''The Great Polish-English Dictionary'', Warsaw, Państwowe Wydawnictwo Wiedza Powszechna, 1970, p. 1457. The Friends of the Constitution had their own charter and organizational discipline and have been described as the first modern

in Poland. Since many of the party's members participated in the ''

Sejm The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of t ...

s (parliament's) deliberations, the Friends of the Constitution have also been described as the first Polish parliamentary

caucus A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to a meeting ...

. Members were also active outside the ''Sejm'' and enjoyed support among many segments of society, from ''

szlachta The ''szlachta'' (Polish: endonym, Lithuanian: šlėkta) were the noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth who, as a class, had the dominating position in the ...

'' (nobility) salons to more radical,

Jacobin , logo = JacobinVignette03.jpg , logo_size = 180px , logo_caption = Seal of the Jacobin Club (1792–1794) , motto = "Live free or die"(french: Vivre libre ou mourir) , successor = Pa ...

-influenced

bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...

circles. The first meeting of the Friends of the Constitution took place on 21 May 1791. Their charter declared their support for the May 3 Constitution, and their aim of perfecting the Constitution and the

polity A polity is an identifiable Politics, political entity – a group of people with a collective identity, who are organized by some form of Institutionalisation, institutionalized social relation, social relations, and have a capacity to mobilize ...

that it served. The party numbered at least 213 members whose names are known to history, including those of 126 deputies and 14 senators. Most of the members were of the ''

'', but at least 7 were townsmen. The charter stipulated that all members were equal. Decisions were taken by majority vote. Many members had connections with the

. Prominent members included:

Deputy Chancellor of the Crown Chancellor of Poland ( pl, Kanclerz - , from la, cancellarius) was one of the highest officials in the historic Poland. This office functioned from the early Polish kingdom of the 12th century until the end of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwea ...

, Prince

Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski Prince Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski (1 December 1734 – 19 March 1823) was an influential List of Polish people, Polish szlachcic, aristocrat, writer, literary and theater critic, linguist, traveller and statesman. He was a great patron of arts an ...

, Prince

Józef Poniatowski Prince Józef Antoni Poniatowski (; 7 May 1763 – 19 October 1813) was a Polish general, minister of war and army chief, who became a Marshal of the French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. A nephew of king Stanislaus Augustus of Poland (), ...

, Marcin Badeni, Franciszek Barss,

Joachim Chreptowicz Joachim Chreptowicz pseud.: ''Jeden z współziomków'' (4 January 1729, Jasieniec near Navahradak – 4 March 1812), of Odrowąż Coat of Arms, was a Polish-Lithuanian nobleman, writer, poet, politician of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, marshal o ...

Jan August Cichocki Jan August Cichocki (1750–1795) was a Polish military officer and a general of the Polish Army, notable for his service in the Warsaw Uprising (1794). Thanks to a scholarship funded by Alois Bruhl, Cichocki studied artillery tactics in Dresden. ...

, Ignacy Dembiński,

Ignacy Działyński Ignacy Erazm Działyński (1754–1797) was a Polish nobleman ( szlachcic) of Ogończyk coat of arms and a military officer, known for his participation in the Warsaw Uprising of 1794. Biography Born in 1754 in Konarzewo near Poznań, he was ...

, Ksawery Działyński, Antoni Dzieduszycki, Augustyn Gorzeński, Paweł Jerzy Grabowski,

Ludwik Szymon Gutakowski Ludwik Szymon Gutakowski of the Gutak coat of arms (28 October 1738 - 1 December 1811 in Warsaw) was the second Prime Minister of Poland, and the President of the Council of State and of the Cabinet. He was educated at the Collegium Nobilium in ...

, Janusz Stanisław Iliński,

Michał Kochanowski Michał Ambroży Kochanowski (1757–1832) was a Chamberlain of Stanisław August Poniatowski since 1778; deputy to the Great Sejm (1788–1792), councillor of Diplomatic Section of Provisional Temporary Council, member of the Supreme National C ...

, Stanisław Kublicki, Jan Paweł Łuszczewski,

Antoni Madaliński Antoni Madaliński (1739–1805) – Polish Lieutenant General, commander of 1st Greater Polish National Cavalry Brigade during Kościuszko Uprising. He was Bar Confederation participant. In 1786 was elected deputy and soon after deputy on Great ...

, Józef Andrzej Mikorski, Mikołaj Morawski,

Adam Naruszewicz Adam Stanisław Naruszewicz ( lt, Adomas Naruševičius; 20 October 1733 – 8 July 1796) was a Polish-Lithuanian nobleman, poet, historian, dramatist, translator, publicist, Jesuit and Roman Catholic bishop. Born in a szlachta family, he wen ...

Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz ( , ; 6 February 1758 – 21 May 1841) was a Polish poet, playwright and statesman. He was a leading advocate for the Constitution of 3 May 1791. Early life Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz was born 6 February 1758 in Skoki, near ...

, Józef Kajetan Ossoliński,

Tomasz Adam Ostrowski Count Tomasz Adam Ostrowski (21 December 1735 – 5 February 1817) was a Polish nobleman ( szlachcic), politician, spokesman, statesman and ''Count'' since 1798. Tomasz became Colonel of the Crown Army in 1765, Chamberlain of King Stanisław ...

Scipione Piattoli Scipione Piattoli (; 10 November 1749 – 12 April 1809) was an Italian Catholic priest—a Piarist—an educator, writer, and political activist, and a major figure of the Enlightenment in Poland. After ten years as a professor at the Universit ...

, Grzegorz Piramowicz,

Stanisław Kostka Potocki Count Stanisław Kostka Potocki (; November 1755 – 14 September 1821) was a Polish nobleman, politician, writer, public intellectual and patron of the arts. Life Potocki was a son of General and starost of Lwów, Eustachy Potocki and An ...

Józef Ignacy Rybiński Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

, Walenty Sobolewski, Stanisław Sołtan,

Stanisław Sołtyk Stanisław Sołtyk (12 December 1753 – 4 June 1831) was a Polish nobleman (szlachcic), political activist, landowner, father of Roman Sołtyk. Stanisław was born in Krysk near Płońsk. He became Royal chamberlain in 1780, Great Podstoli ...

, Michał Strasz,

Józef Weyssenhoff Józef Weyssenhoff (8 April 1860 – 6 July 1932) was a Polish novelist, poet, literary critic, publisher. Close to the National Democracy (Poland), National Democracy political movement after 1905, he paid tribute to the tradition of the Polish ...

Mikołaj Wolski Mikołaj Wolski (1553–1630), bearer of the Półkozic coat of arms, was a Grand Court Marshal (1600-1616), Grand Crown Marshal (1616–1630), diplomat of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, starost of Krzepice and Olsztyn. He was famous for ...

Ignacy Wyssogota Zakrzewski Ignacy Wyssogota Zakrzewski (1745–1802) was a notable Polish nobleman, politician, art collector, Freemason, and the Mayor of Warsaw during the last years of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, in 1792 and 1794. Biography Ignacy Wyssogota Za ...

. The founding members of the Friends of the Constitution included King

Stanisław August Poniatowski Stanisław II August (born Stanisław Antoni Poniatowski; 17 January 1732 – 12 February 1798), known also by his regnal Latin name Stanislaus II Augustus, was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1764 to 1795, and the last monarch ...

's Italian secretary,

, who appears in the above list of prominent members. Notable absentees included the King himself (a co-author of the

) and

Stanisław Małachowski Count Stanisław Małachowski, of the Nałęcz coat-of-arms (; 1736–1809) was the first Prime Minister of Poland, a member of the Polish government's Permanent Council (Rada Nieustająca) (1776–1780), Marshal of the Crown Courts of Justice fr ...

, the

Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...

of the

Great Sejm The Great Sejm, also known as the Four-Year Sejm ( Polish: ''Sejm Wielki'' or ''Sejm Czteroletni''; Lithuanian: ''Didysis seimas'' or ''Ketverių metų seimas'') was a Sejm (parliament) of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that was held in War ...

, both of whom preferred to maintain a semblance of political neutrality. The party's meetings were generally held at the Radziwiłł Palace — now the Presidential Palace — on

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

Krakowskie Przedmieście Krakowskie Przedmieście (, literally: ''Cracow Fore-town''; french: link=no, Faubourg de Cracovie), often abbreviated to Krakowskie, is one of the best known and most prestigious streets of Poland's capital Warsaw, surrounded by historic palaces ...

, a few minutes' walk from the Royal Castle. The Friends of the Constitution were active until the Commonwealth's defeat in the

War in Defense of the Constitution War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...

and the demise of the 3 May Constitution.

History

See also

Footnotes

References

Further reading