Patriotic Party

The Patriotic Party (Polish: Stronnictwo Patriotyczne), also known as the Patriot Party or, in English, as the Reform Party, was a political movement in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the period of the Four-Year Sejm (Great Sejm) of 1788–92, whose chief achievement was the Constitution of 3 May 1791. The reformers aimed to strengthen the ailing political machinery of the Commonwealth, to bolster its military, and to reduce foreign political influence, particularly that of the Russian Empire. It has been called the first Polish political party, though it had no formal organizational structure. The Party was inspired by the ideals of the French Revolution, and its name, proudly used by themselves, was a tribute to the Dutch Patriots.

The Patriotic Party ceased to exist soon after the adoption of the Constitution when, in the War in Defense of the Constitution, the Targowica Confederates, backed by the Russians, overthrew the reformed government. In 1795 the Third Partition of Poland ended the Commonwealth's independent existence. Many of the movement's leaders emigrated abroad.