What was the Oath of the Tennis Court?
The Oath of the Tennis Court was a vow taken in June 1789 by opponents of the French government, which was then headed by a king. They agreed to form a representative government called the French national assembly and to write their own constitution (a document that specifies a country’s laws). The Oath of the Tennis Court set in motion the series of events that resulted in the French Revolution (1789–99), the movement that led to the overthrow of the monarchy (government headed by a single ruler). French society had long been divided into three classes called “estates.” Members of the clergy were the first estate; the nobility (landowners) comprised the second estate; and everyone else, including the middle class (businessmen) and peasants (farm workers and laborers) belonged to the third estate. Social unrest began when philosophers such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau…
