Tuesday, October 27, 2009

The Tennis Court Oath

The Estates General, a convention of the three estates in France, took place during Louis XVI reign on December 27th, 1778. The most recent Estates General meeting before this one occurred in 1614. Therefore, Louis XVI's Estates General convention was the first to happen in over 170 years. This significant time gap represents a lack of communication with the population of France in terms of politics and fair representation.

In June 1789, another Estates General assembly took place (the second one since December 1788). The 3rd estate renamed itself as the National Assembly, since they believed that they accounted for the vast majority of the French people. However, the 1st and 2nd estates locked the 3rd estate out of this Estates General meeting. Furious, the National Assembly met separately on June 20th, 1789, in an indoor tennis court to converse with one another. This event soon became known as the Tennis Court Oath, where the members National Assembly swore to meet at this tennis court until a just constitution was created.

The National Assembly's primary grievance was severe lack of representation. Unfair balance of representation files as both a personal and financial offense to the 3rd estate and the mass number people it represents. As a personal offense, it discards citizens politically and socially from the ring of government affairs, leaving "lower-class" with no say in making laws and decisions. Financially, the 3rd estate and its represented citizens generally have less money. Having minimal representation mostly correlates with one's lower place on the social ladder. This circumstance often leads to decrease in revenue and poverty. Due to these unfortunate instances of misrepresentation and poverty, unrest and tension is likely to develop within the French population. As this tension increases, the chances of rebellion (and eventually revolution) dramatically increase.

This important act of opposition towards the government triggered signs of the French Revolution, opening doors to eventual rebellion, violence, and overthrow of the monarchy.

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