The adoption of the May 3rd Constitution provoked the active hostility of the Polish Commonwealth's neighbors. In the War in Defense of the Constitution (1792), Poland was betrayed by its Prussian ally Frederick William II and defeated by the Imperial Russia of Catherine the Great, allied with the Targowica Confederation, a cabal of Polish magnates who opposed reforms that might weaken their influence. Despite the defeat, and the subsequent Second Partition of Poland, the May 3rd Constitution influenced later democratic movements in the world. Ultimately, Prussia, Austria and Russia partitioned Poland in 1795. It remained, after the demise of the Polish Kingdom in 1795, over the next 123 years of Polish partitions, a beacon in the struggle to restore Polish sovereignty. 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." 19th century Duchy of Warsaw, 1806 Constitution of the Kingdom of Poland, 1815 Constitution of the Free City of Kraków, 1815 Second Polish Republic (1919–1939) The Second Polish Republic had three constitutions. They were, in historical order: Small Constitution, 1919 March Constitution, 1921 April Constitution, 1935 Polish People's Republic (1945–1989) The Manifesto of the Polish Committee of National Liberation condemned the April Constitution of 1935 as "unlawful and fascist" and stated that the March Constitution of 1921 would be the Polish constitution until a new one could be written. The new constitution was the Small Constitution of 1947, later succeeded by the Constitution of the Polish People's Republic in 1952. Third Polish Republic (1989–1997) Prior to the current 1997 Constitution, the country was governed by the Small Constitution of 1992, which amended the main articles of the Constitution of the Polish People's Republic and formed the legal basis of the Polish State between 1992 and 1997. See also List of national constitutions Polish constitutional crisis, 2015 References Further reading Chair of History of Polish Law, Jagiellonian University (in Polish) External links English text of the Polish Constitution Polish text of the Polish Constitution Polish Constitutional Law Constitutions, bibliography, links Overview 1997 documents 1997 in law 1997 in Poland History of Poland (1989–present) Constitutions of Poland 1997 in politics April 1997 events in Europe