The Tennis Court Oath

The Tennis Court Oath was a protest by french citizens against the lack of equal representation of the third state (composed of peasants of course) in the States-General meeting. The third state was not receiving equal say in these meetings because King Louis XVI had set up the States-General so that the other two states (comprised of clergy and nobility) could out vote the third state on every decision made. In 1978 when the third state asked King Louis XIV for equal representation, he denied their requests and so the third state decided to protest this by staying out of the States-General meetings and in one case, meeting on a tennis court after being locked out of a session, hence the name The Tennis Court Oath. Grievances faced by the third state were that they were mental and physical. Mentally, the peasants of the third state were being counted as lesser to the nobility and clergy which gave them ample reasons to revolt. By not allowing the third state to have the same amount of say in the states general meetings the government had expressed to the public that the say of nobles and clergymen was more important than that of mere peasants; which infuriated the third state. The other Grievance that the third state had was financial. The third state was comprised of people that were suffering to make money at the time, and working very hard for low pay, while the nobles taxed the peasants consistently. Since the third state could not out vote the clergymen and nobles, they were forced to watch as new taxes were imposed upon them with the sole intent of making the first and second state's lives easier. Overall, financial injustice and social inequality gave the third state ample grievances.