What Does the Tennis Court Oath Mean?

The Tennis Court Oath was a pledge made by the deputies of the Third Estate in France during the early stages of the French Revolution.

Origins of the Tennis Court Oath

The Tennis Court Oath was a big event that happened during the French Revolution. It was when a group of people pledged to not leave until they had made a new constitution. The Tennis Court Oath was a turning point in the French Revolution because it showed that the people were willing to fight for their rights.

The Estates-General of 1789

The Third Estate had sent delegates to the Estates-General of 1789, the French parliament, expecting that they would have an equal say in the proceedings. When it became clear that the First and Second Estates (the clergy and nobility, respectively) were out to protect their own privileges, the Third Estate took matters into their own hands. On June 17, 1789 – three days after the Third Estate had declared itself the National Assembly – deputies from the other two estates joined them, and together they took an oath not to disperse until they had given France a new constitution. The Tennis Court Oath got its name from where it was taken – on a tennis court at a royal palace in Versailles.

The National Assembly

On 17 June 1789, the deputies of the Third Estate of the Estates-General – meeting in the Tennis Court at the Palace of Versailles – took an oath not to separate until they had established a French Constitution. Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès, one of their leaders, said “the National Assembly will not disband without having obtained its fundamental demands”.

The deputies invited other representatives from all over France to join them, and on 23 June 1789 they adopted – without a vote – the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. Sieyès then proposed that the National Assembly elect a President, and on 2 July 1789 Bailly was elected as its first President.

The Tennis Court Oath marked an important early stage in the French Revolution: it was a pledge by which revolutionaries committed themselves to continue their work despite strong opposition from conservative elements within French society.

The Tennis Court Oath

On June 20, 1789, the Third Estate in France (the common people) met at a tennis court in Versailles and took an oath to not leave until they had drafted a new constitution. The National Assembly had been formed in the hopes of achieving some reform, but King Louis XVI had responded by doubling down on his absolute power. This meant that the only way to get what they wanted was to draft a new constitution without the king’s approval.

The Oath Itself

On June 20, 1789, not long after the National Assembly had begun its work of creating a constitution for France, one of its members—a journalist named Jean-Paul Marat—proposed that the Assembly take an oath binding all its members to complete the work they had begun. The Tennis Court Oath (Serment du Jeu de Paume) was the result.

The National Assembly had been meeting in a royal tennis court at Versailles, just outside Paris, because it did not yet have a proper meeting place of its own. When Marat made his proposal, some members objected that they could not take such an oath without first knowing what kind of constitution they were going to create. Others argued that it was premature to take any sort of oath before completing their work.

But ultimately, the Assembly voted to take the Oath, and on June 20th, all588 members present marched in procession from the tennis court to a nearby salon, where they solemnly swore “to employ every resource of their power” in order “to procure the Liberty and Happiness of the French People.”

The Tennis Court Oath was significant not only because it bound the Assembly members to finish their work, but also because it showed that the National Assembly was willing to defy the king if necessary in order to achieve their goals. Within weeks of taking the Oath, the Assembly would declare itself to be the sole source of constitutional authority in France—stripping King Louis XVI of his veto power and effectively making him a figurehead.

The Significance of the Oath

The Tennis Court Oath (Serment du jeu de paume) was a seminal event during the first days of the French Revolution. The Oath was a pledge signed by 576 of the 577 members from the Third Estate who were assembled in a tennis court in the Palais-Royal in Paris on June 20, 1789. The only person who did not sign was Joseph Martin-Dauch, representative of the clergy who had gone to fetch Bishop Baury, also absent.

By signing the document, the deputies of the Third Estate committed themselves to pursue with vigor their plan to assemble a National Constituent Assembly in defiance of King Louis XVI’s orders to disband. They vowed not only to remain assembled until they had completed their constitution but also pledged “not to separate, and to reassemble wherever circumstances require, until the completion of our work”.

The Tennis Court Oath became an important symbol of revolutionary commitment during the early days of the French Revolution as it signifiedthat deputies were prepared to defy royal authority and depart from established procedures in order to achieve their political objectives.

The Aftermath of the Oath

The Tennis Court Oath (Serment du Jeu de Paume) was a pledge signed by 576 of the 577 members from the Third Estate who were locked out of a meeting of the Estates-General on 20 June 1789. The National Assembly was created in the wake of the storming of the Bastille and the oath was a symbol of defiance to King Louis XVI. It was a key event in the early days of the French Revolution.

The Fall of the Bastille

The Tennis Court Oath (French: Serment du Jeu de Paume) was a pledge signed by 576 of the 577 members from the Third Estate who met at the Jeu de Paume on 20 June 1789. The only person who did not sign was Joseph Martin-Dauch, a representative of the clergy who refused to sign with the rest of the deputies, saying that he “came to proclaim, not to subscribe”.[1] The Tennis Court Oath was a revolutionary act during the first days of the French Revolution. The deputies were looking for a symbolic act that would unite all of France behind them as they confronted the Estates-General. Ever since Louis XVI had convened it in May 1789, France had been divided into two diametrically opposed camps—the Party of Order and the Party of Movement; this polarization between opponents and supporters became even more visible when the Third Estate declared itself a National Assembly on 9 June 1789 and refused to be intimidated by pressure or threats from either King Louis XVI or his opponents in either camp. This decision came after its members had occupied part of Saint Paul’s Cathedral to force King Louis XVI to convene it after he had ignored their requests for two months and only appeared before them twice since they had declared themselves as representatives of all France as constituent assembly (especially because, after having embraced their initiative in summoning an Estates General meeting and promising reforms which included calling for parties from which demands could be heard during this National Assembly meeting phase), seen his power continued to erode when, during his second appearance on June 23rd he agreed without conditions with AND backed their Tennis Court Oath which guarantied those reforms would pass even if he vetoed them—this development caused many people (deputies as well as citizens) who§

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789) was a document that proclaimed the natural and inalienable rights of all men. The Tennis Court Oath (1791) was a pledge made by the National Assembly of France to not leave their meeting place until they had written a new constitution. These two documents were important steps in the formation of the French Republic.