Page 206 - Beholding Liberty!

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Provisional Constitution of Greece
Corinth 1822, 2nd edition
Library of the Hellenic Parliament
Provisional Constitution of Greece and organizational law draft of its provinces by Polyzoides Missolonghi: Printing House of D. Menestheos, 1824
Library of the Hellenic Parliament
POLITICAL CONSTITUTION of the United States of America (p. 73).
The liberal Anastasios Polyzoides participated, along with the Italian radical Vincent Galina, in the twelve-member committee for the drafting of the Provisional Constitution of Greece. Recognizing the need for the familiarization of the Greeks with the constitutional texts of the time, in the preface of this edition he puts forward the view that, for the revision of the Provisional Constitution, there should be wise and time-tested prototypes, as the An- glo-Saxon constitutional texts (United States and Great Britain) are, which he also translates for the sake of the Greeks, accompanied by the comments of constitution experts and his own interpretive notes. Indeed, between the British and the American regime he favours the latter, as freed from the rem- nants of feudal tradition.
WITH THE PROCLAMATION of the 1st National Assembly, the revolted Greeks made known to Europe their decision to take up arms, to liberate themselves from the tyranny of the Otto- mans. Worthy of note is the opening wording «De- scendants of the wise and philanthropic nation of the Greeks, contemporaries of the now enlightened and well-governed people of Europe», which, on one hand, establishes the connection of the Revolted with their ancient ancestors and, on the other hand, places them next to the Europeans, who enjoyed the benefits brought by ideological currents, such as the Enlightenment, but also by radical movements, like the French Revolution.
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206 BEHOLDING LIBERTY!