What Was the Tennis Court Oath?

The Tennis Court Oath was a key event during the early days of the French Revolution. Find out more about this important oath and what it meant for the French people.

Origins of the Tennis Court Oath

On June 20, 1789, representatives of the Third Estate in France convened at a tennis court in the town of Versailles. This group would eventually become known as the National Assembly, and their meeting at the tennis court would come to be known as the Tennis Court Oath. But what exactly was this oath, and what did it mean for the French Revolution?

The National Assembly

On June 17, 1789, representatives of the Third Estate at the Estates-General in Versailles took an oath not to separate before they had agreed on a new French Constitution. When the King later locked them out of their meeting hall at a nearby tennis court, they continued their session there, vowing not to leave until they had drafted a new constitution for France. This became known as the Tennis Court Oath (Serment du Jeu de Paume).

The National Assembly, composed of deputies from the Third Estate, was formed in response to the King’s calling of the Estates-General. Prior to this time, France had been governed according to the feudal system outlined in the country’s laws and customs. Under this system, only property-owning nobles and clergy could vote, while commoners were largely left out of government.

The Third Estate was made up of commoners and was by far the largest of the Estates-General. At the beginning of the meeting called by King Louis XVI, deputies from the Third Estate were allotted only one vote, even though they represented more than twice as many people as either the nobility or clergy. In response to this disparity, deputies from the Third Estate formed their own group in an effort to have more impact on the proceedings.

When King Louis XVI locked them out of their meeting hall on June 20th, they reconvened at a local tennis court and took an oath not to disperse until they had writtens a new constitution for France. This became known as The Tennis Court Oath (Serment du Jeu de Paume).

The Third Estate

The Third Estate was the common people of France who were not part of the nobility or the clergy. They made up the vast majority of the population, but were not given a voice in government. In 1789, when the Estates-General was called to meet, they were eager to have a say in how their country was run.

On June 17, 1789, the Third Estate met on a tennis court in Paris and took an oath not to disband until they had written a new constitution for France. This oath became known as the Tennis Court Oath (Serment du Jeu de Paume) and was a key moment in the early days of the French Revolution.

Despite being outnumbered by the other two estates, the Third Estate persisted with their demands for change. In July 1789, they declared themselves to be the National Assembly, with full political power in France. This act set off a chain of events that would lead to revolution and eventually the overthrow of King Louis XVI.

The Oath Itself

On June 20, 1789, the Third Estate, which represented the common people of France, met at a tennis court in Paris and took an oath not to disperse until they had drawn up a new constitution. The National Assembly, as they called themselves, included representatives of the bourgeoisie, or middle class, as well as the nobility and the clergy. The Tennis Court Oath was a key event during the early days of the French Revolution.

The Preamble

On June 20, 1789, the morning after the Third Estate had declared itself a national assembly and taken the Tennis Court Oath, its deputies met to draw up a preamble to a constitution. In it, they set out the principles that would underpin their work over the next three years and that would shape France for generations to come.

“The representatives of the French people,” it began, “… considering that ignorance, neglect or contempt of the rights of man are the sole causes of public calamity and of the corruption of governments, have resolved to set forth in a solemn declaration the natural, unalienable and sacred rights of man…”

The Oath

The Tennis Court Oath (Serment du Jeu de Paume) was a key event during the early stages of the French Revolution, when a group of National Assembly deputies vowed to continue meeting until they had drafted a new constitution for France. The deputies had been locked out of their usual meeting place in the Estates-General by King Louis XVI, so they gathered on a nearby tennis court, where they took their oath on June 20, 1789.

TheSerment du Jeu de Paume captured the revolutionary spirit of the day and helped to solidify support for the National Assembly among the people of France. The text of the oath, which was written by journalist Jacques Hébert, read:

“We swear never to separate, and to reassemble wherever circumstances require, until the constitution of the kingdom is established. Whatever our sacrifices may be, we declare that we are ready to make them for the sake of freedom.”

Over 700 deputies signed the Tennis Court Oath, including several prominent members of the Third Estate such as Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau and Jean-Sylvain Bailly, who would go on to play important roles in the early days of the French Revolution.

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 following morning, the deputies met on a tennis court at the Jeu de Paume, an indoor tennis court at the Palais Royal in Paris. They swore not to disperse until constitutional principles were established and to avoid paying taxes to the crown, which would have been contrary to their Third Estate status.

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen

On 17 June 1789, the deputies of the Third Estate of the Estates-General – the commoners of France – took the Tennis Court Oath (Serment du Jeu de Paume) at a tennis court in Versailles. They swore not to separate before they had reached agreement on a constitution for France. The deputies represented the people of France who demanded a constitution to represent them with equal rights as compared to the other two estates which were heavily composed of nobles.

The National Assembly (Assemblée nationale) was formed in the wake of the Tennis Court Oath on 9 July 1789 out of representatives from the Third Estate. The National Assembly shouted down King Louis XVI when he tried to enter their meeting on 20 June and thereafter declared themselves a constituent assembly with sovereign authority over France.

King Louis XVI eventually succumbed to pressure fromthe people, and in September 1791″the Crown was forced to accept a constitutional monarchy along the lines proposed by the Declaration” which included “the reaffirmation of male suffrage and equality before law.”

The Storming of the Bastille

The Tennis Court Oath (Serment du Jeu de Paume) was a pivotal 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 locked out of a meeting of the Estates-General on 20 June 1789. The Tennis Court Oath became an important symbol of the French Revolution as it united the ordinary people in a way that had not been accomplished before.

The Third Estate, which represented the common people, had been demanding more representation for years. When King Louis XVI convoked the Estates-General, they were hopeful that their voices would finally be heard. However, when they arrived at Versailles, they found that they were outnumbered two to one by representatives from the First and Second Estates (the nobility and clergy).

On 17 June 1789, after days of frustrating debate, the Third Estate finally declared themselves a National Assembly. The next day, they were locked out of their meeting room by order of the king. With no other options, they met in a nearby tennis court and took an oath not to disperse until they had written a new constitution for France.

The nobility and clergy eventually joined the National Assembly, but this event proved to be a key moment in solidifying support for the Revolution among ordinary people.