The Tennis Court Oath

The Tennis Court Oath was the oath taken by the third estate of France 1789 in an empty tennis court to oppose the Kings that they suspected was going to move against them. The oath said that the third estate bind themselves together as a whole French nation until a fair constitution was drawn up.

The main grievance of the third estate was the lack of equality in the States-General. Before the French Revolution, each estate was given one vote, making it so the first two estates (the clergy and the nobles) could out-vote the third estate at all times. However, in 1788, the third estate asked the king to double their numbers because the third estate made up the majority of France. The king obliged and the third estate thought of it as a victory. They thought that if they had double numbers this meant that the vote would be taken by a head count, and not by a single vote for the entire estate. Unfortunately, the King never made this clear. This is what lead to the Tennis Court Oath being taken. All the third estate wanted was for their numbers in society to equal the amount of say that the estate had in the States-General.

Before the States-General took place, the third estate forced all the estates to join and vote as one. This caused a delay in the organization of the States General. To keep delaying the official meeting until they got their way, the third estate then called for the credentials of everyone in the General to be questioned and verified. After some more meetings, it became clear that the third estate was starting to win over the clergy and the nobles, and therefore gaining too much power. This made the King feel threatened and caused him to call of the States-General for an amount of time. Seeing this as a threat to their win, the third estate gathered in an empty tennis court and vowed to work together as a nation until they got their way. All they wanted was equality and a fair say.