, Poland, 2014 The Constitution of 3 May 1791 is considered one of the most important achievements in the
history of Poland, despite being in effect for only a year, until the
Russo-Polish War of 1792. Historian
Norman Davies calls it "the first
constitution of its type in Europe"; other scholars also refer to it as the world's second oldest constitution. The 3 May Constitution was designed to redress long-standing political defects of the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Constitution sought to supplant the existing anarchy fostered by some of the country's
magnates with a more
democratic constitutional monarchy. The adoption of the 3 May Constitution provoked the active hostility of the Commonwealth's neighbours, leading to the
Second Partition of Poland in 1792, the
Kościuszko Uprising of 1794 and the final,
Third Partition of Poland, in 1795. In the words of two of its co-authors,
Ignacy Potocki and
Hugo Kołłątaj, it was "the last will and testament of the expiring Fatherland." The memory of the 3 May Constitution—recognised by
political scientists as a very progressive document for its time—for generations helped keep alive Polish aspirations for an independent and just society, and continued to inform the efforts of its authors' descendants. In Poland it is viewed as a
national symbol, and the culmination of all that was good and enlightened in
Polish history and
culture. The 3 May anniversary of its adoption has been observed as Poland's most important
civil holiday since
Poland regained independence in 1918, along with the
National Independence Day and the
Armed Forces Day. Its importance for the
Polish people has been compared to that of
4 July to the Americans. ==Celebrations==