Constitution of 3 May 1791

The Constitution of 3 May 1791 was a governing charter adopted by the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth to strengthen central authority and reform its political system. It replaced the liberum veto and established a hereditary monarchy while preserving a representative legislature.

Sejm: The parliament of Poland, historically including the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The constitution reorganized this legislature and limited the procedural paralysis that had obstructed its work.
Great Sejm: The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth's parliament that met from 1788 to 1792 and enacted major reforms. This legislature debated and adopted the constitution.
Targowica Confederation: A 1792 confederation of Polish nobles who opposed the constitutional reforms and sought Russian intervention. Its resistance helped provoke the war that ended the constitution's operation.
Golden Liberty: The political system of the Polish nobility, which granted extensive rights and influence to nobles. The constitution curtailed parts of this system to strengthen the Commonwealth's central government.
Liberum veto: A parliamentary rule allowing one deputy to disrupt a Sejm session and invalidate its proceedings. The constitution ended this source of legislative deadlock.
Stanisław August Poniatowski: The last king and grand duke of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, reigning from 1764 to 1795. The monarch supported the reform project and was a principal architect of the charter.
Polish–Russian War of 1792: A 1792 war between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and Russia over the Commonwealth's reforms. The invasion challenged the constitutional order soon after its adoption.
Pacta conventa: Agreements that Poland's elected monarchs accepted as conditions of their accession to the throne. Hereditary succession displaced the elective framework associated with these royal agreements.
Hereditary monarchy: A monarchy in which succession to the throne ordinarily follows a hereditary rule. The constitution replaced the elective monarchy with hereditary succession.
Ignacy Potocki: A Polish statesman and reformer who helped draft the Constitution of 3 May 1791. His work with other reformers shaped the constitution's provisions.

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