A term for when the delegates of the third estate in the Estates-General France in the 18th century swore an oath at an indoor tennis court that they would never separate until a Constitution had been written. They did this in order to put pressure on Louis XVI to give more power to the Third Estate, which made up 95% of the French population.
The main grievance of the third estate was that each delegate in the estates should receive a vote, instead of each estate receiving one vote. This is because the king allowed the third estate twice as many delegates because they made up the vast majority of France's population, and would give the third estate more power.
This is a purely political grievance, or call for reform, that the third estate brought up. In the past, the nobles and the clergy, who made up the other two estates, could outvote the third estate because each estate got one vote. This grievance led to the third estate declaring itself to be the National Assembly of France, which led to members of the other estates joining the National Assembly, which led to the third estate getting locked out of the meeting room, which led to the Tennis Court Oath, which led to Louis XVI relenting and giving the National Assembly control of France.
This grievance caused a major shift in political power and really shook up the way the country was run. In the past, the nobles and clergymen had always had the power, with the third estate and majority of the population voicing their opinions but constantly being outvoted 2-1. But now with the National Assembly running things in France the common people gained power, while the upper class people in society lost some of their power.
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