What Does The Tennis Court Oath Mean?

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 tennis court in the Palais-Royal in Paris on 20 June 1789. It was a pledge to fight for a constitution and a commitment to not disband until their grievances had been heard.

Origins of the Tennis Court Oath

The Tennis Court Oath was a swear taken by the National Assembly of France on June 20, 1789, during the early stages of the French Revolution. The Tennis Court Oath was a significant event because it was one of the first times the people stood up against the king. It also set a precedent for future revolutions.

The Estates-General of 1789

The Tennis Court Oath (French: Serment du Jeu de Paume) was a pledge made by the representatives of the Third Estate who had met at the Hôtel des Menus-Plaisirs in Versailles, France, on 20 June 1789. The delegates had convened there on that morning to discuss a response to King Louis XVI’s call for Orders (États généraux) to assemble and address the financial crisis in France. When the king rejected their address, claiming that such a meeting required royal assent, they met in an indoor tennis court (jeu de paume) on 20 June and took an oath not to separate until they had drafted a new constitution for France.

The National Assembly

On June 17, 1789, representatives of the Third Estate in France’s Estates-General convened on a tennis court at the Palais-Royal in Paris, near the present site of the Louvre Museum. There, they took an oath not to separate until they had given France a new constitution. The National Assembly, as it came to be known, represented a revolution in the way France was governed.

The Tennis Court Oath (Serment du Jeu de Paume) was a pivotal event during the first days of the French Revolution. The representatives of the Third Estate had been locked out of their meeting hall by order of King Louis XVI, so they met instead in a nearby tennis court. When the king appeared in person to address them, he found only one delegate remaining—Jacques-Pierre Brissot, who refused to budge. The other delegates had taken an oath not to leave until they had drawn up a new constitution for France that would limit royal power.

The Tennis Court Oath was significant because it showed that the representatives of the Third Estate were serious about reforming the French government. It also set them on a path toward conflict with Louis XVI and eventually led to the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789.

The Tennis Court Oath

The Tennis Court Oath was a solemn declaration made by the deputies of the Third Estate who had gathered at the Tennis Court in Paris on 20 June 1789. The deputies swore not to disperse until they had given France a constitution. The Tennis Court Oath was a key event in the early stages of the French Revolution.

The Oath’s Significance

When the National Assembly convened in Versailles on June 17, 1789, only a few days after the Third Estate had declared itself the National Assembly, one of its first orders of business was to take the Tennis Court Oath (Serment du Jeu de Paume). This oath was a pledge made by the deputies of the National Assembly, vowing not to disband until they had drafted a new constitution for France. The Tennis Court Oath helped to solidify the power of the National Assembly and set in motion the process of writing a new constitution.

The significance of the Tennis Court Oath lies in both its symbolism and its practical implications. Symbolically, it was an important statement by the deputies of their commitment to creating a new constitution. This symbolic act helped to legitimize the National Assembly in the eyes of both the people of France and other European nations. Practically, it helped to ensure that the Third Estate would not be disbanded by King Louis XVI before it had a chance to complete its work on constitutional reform.

The Tennis Court Oath was an important step in the process of creating a new constitution for France. It helped to legitimize the National Assembly and set it on a path towards success.

The Oath’s Legacy

The Tennis Court Oath was a key event during the early days of the French Revolution. The Oath was taken by a group of nobles and commoners who had gathered at a tennis court in Paris in June of 1789. This group came to be known as the National Assembly.

The Tennis Court Oath was important because it showed that the members of the National Assembly were willing to stand up for their beliefs, even in the face of opposition. The oath also helped to solidify the power of the National Assembly and to set it on a path towards becoming the country’s ruling body.

Today, the Tennis Court Oath is remembered as an important moment in French history. It is also seen as an example of how people can come together and make decisions when they are facing difficult times.