describe the significance of tennis court oath in French Revolution
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Following a series of disastrous years for France, King Louis XVI yielded to demands after failing to rectify the deteriorating situation for his nation. Riots, starvation, and crippling debt forced him to call the Estates General of 1789 in order to attempt to solve the budget situation that France faced.
The Estates General was made up of:
The First Estate (Nobility)
The Second Estate (Clergy)
The Third Estate (Common People)
The three estates, unfortunately, followed a longstanding rule that each estate must vote collectively as one, with each estate’s vote counting as one. This inherently created an imbalance, for the First and Second estates shared (by their virtue) interests to a great degree in opposition to the common people of the Third Estate (though there did exist a minority within the First and Second Estates that sympathized with the Third Estates). This was the culmination of the imbalances that had reigned over the Ancien Regime for so long.
The Third Estate demanded for representation, one vote for one delegate (the Third Estate had delegates equal to the first and second estates combined) in order to equalize matters in the estates general. The King was late to acquiesce to these demands and soon attempted to halt meetings of the newly representative National Assembly.
The National Assembly found its original chamber locked, electing through Abbe Sieyes to meet in an adjoining tennis court in order to hammer out a new constitution for France, now a constitutional monarchy. Their opening Tennis Court Oath between all three estates affirmed their commitment to this cause. It is ultimately significant in the parting shot which really began the French Revolution and the true end of the Age of Absolutism with the beginning of representation of the people and by the people across the continent as the fires of revolution flared bright.
The Estates General was made up of:
The First Estate (Nobility)
The Second Estate (Clergy)
The Third Estate (Common People)
The three estates, unfortunately, followed a longstanding rule that each estate must vote collectively as one, with each estate’s vote counting as one. This inherently created an imbalance, for the First and Second estates shared (by their virtue) interests to a great degree in opposition to the common people of the Third Estate (though there did exist a minority within the First and Second Estates that sympathized with the Third Estates). This was the culmination of the imbalances that had reigned over the Ancien Regime for so long.
The Third Estate demanded for representation, one vote for one delegate (the Third Estate had delegates equal to the first and second estates combined) in order to equalize matters in the estates general. The King was late to acquiesce to these demands and soon attempted to halt meetings of the newly representative National Assembly.
The National Assembly found its original chamber locked, electing through Abbe Sieyes to meet in an adjoining tennis court in order to hammer out a new constitution for France, now a constitutional monarchy. Their opening Tennis Court Oath between all three estates affirmed their commitment to this cause. It is ultimately significant in the parting shot which really began the French Revolution and the true end of the Age of Absolutism with the beginning of representation of the people and by the people across the continent as the fires of revolution flared bright.
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