Tennis Court Oath Essay

← Doyle, William. The French Revolution: A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc. 2001

Unfortunately for France and the cause of freedom, resistance from the Court and special interests proved too powerful, and Turgot was removed from office in 1776. "The dismissal of this great man," wrote Voltaire, "crushes me. . . . Since that fatal day, I have not followed anything . . . and am waiting patiently for someone to cut our throats.? Turgot's successors, following a mercantilist policy of government intervention, only made the French economy worse. In a desperate move to find money in the face of an uproar across the country and to re-establish harmony, Louis XVI agreed to convene the Estates-General for May 1789. Meanwhile, the king's new finance minister, Jacques Necker, a Swiss financial expert, delayed the effects of mercantilism by importing large amounts of grain. On May 5, the Estates-General convened at Versailles. By June 17, the Third Estate had proclaimed itself the National Assembly. Three days later, the delegates took the famous Tennis Court Oath, vowing not to disband until France had a new constitution. However, the real French Revolution began not

For Lenin and Trotsky, they envisage the revolutionary vanguard party as being separate from the proletariat class. Their reasoning being that the working class themselves would remain limited by their own trade’s union consciousness and therefore, would need the assistance of the Central Committee to lead them in the methods to achieve the socialist revolution. For Luxembourg, however, the vanguard party would need to be rooted and systematically connected to the proletariat class itself in order for the revolution’s spontaneity and organizational dialectic

The revolution developed rapidly in the months May to October 1789, sparked by the King’s refusal to put forward a programme of reform in order to satisfy the Third Estate during the meeting of the Estates General on the 5th May 1789. Consequently, the Third Estate assembled in order to take the Tennis Court Oath agreeing not to disperse until France had a Constitution. Fearing his position was being threatened by the radical Third Estate, Louis contemplated using military force and ordered the stationing of 20000 troops round Paris in preparation to dissolve the National Assembly by force if necessary. On the 11th July 1789, Louis made the mistake of dismissing Jacques Necker, who was not only popular with the Third Estate but

Jacobins= Republican radicals led by a new generation of revolutionaries Robespierre, Danton, Marat, and Duke of Orleans (Philippe

The Tennis Court Oath was created purely to balance society once again and lift some of the weight of the taxes off the population. The beginning events of the French Revolution were wholly due to the taxation of the third estate. The American revolution was caused by taxation that was perceived as unconstitutional, while the French revolution was caused by the over taxation of the third estate and the lack of taxation in the first two estates. In both situations taxation angered the general people, moving them to act in order to make a statement to their governing bodies so that they would understand the need for change.

“Give me liberty, or give me death,” proclaimed the revolutionary activist Patrick Henry as he and his fellow Americans fought towards an independent nation free from the monarchical Britain. With the American revolution, King Louis XVI sent French soldiers to America to purposely aid the new country, but accidentally implanted the idea for revolution in France, too. As the rising debt and unjust taxation of France climbed even higher, the Third Estate of France declared themselves the new lawmakers of France with these French soldiers from America instituting key revolutionary ideas. In June 1789, this Tennis Court Oath started the monstrously long attempt the French made to institutionalize their own freedom, liberty, and equality. Parisians

“Oh no, please don’t tell me this is happening. Mom, can I just skip this tournament?” I pleaded, “There is absolutely no hope for me.” Being the dramatic person I am, I lamented the imminent end of my tennis career. I went into the tournament with an expectation of failure. I started the match by accidentally whacking the ball over the fence, tripping on my own feet rushing to end the point. The little confidence I had when going into the match dissipated within a few minutes. I continued the match pondering how to angle my racket to put spin on the ball. Every time I failed, I blamed it on the high skill level of my opponent. Unsurprisingly, I lost in an hour. When looking back on that match, I realized that it could have gone differently had I not brought myself down before. My lack of

Purpose Statement: The purpose of my speech is to inform my audience about the history of tennis and about tennis itself.

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen was the product of an oppressed people who were tired of living under a government in which they had no voice. During the Ancién Regime in France, there social classes, called estates, greatly divided the people on the basis of power and wealth. The first estate being the clergy, the second nobility, and the third estate being everyone else in the country of France (“The French Revolution” 23:20). The first two estates made up 3% of the population, while the third estate made up 97%, yet the first two estates held all the power. The French government at the time was an absolute monarchy, meaning the king derived his power from god and could exercise it without other constituted bodies having a right to challenge him (Introduction: Louis XIV and French Absolutism p.205). However, France was in such a state of crises in the late 18th century that Louis XVI called together the estates general, an assembly where all three estates were represented, for the first time in one hundred years (“The French Revolution” 23:00). Robes Pierre, a representative of the third estate, insisted that the nobles and clergy begin to pay taxes, but since the first and second estate held two thirds of the vote, he was quickly dismissed. After six weeks of meeting without achieving anything for the state, the third estate representatives become silenced by the first two estates. Enraged, they move next door to a tennis court and make “The Tennis Court

Before the French Revolution took place the people were oppressed by their king, Louis XVI. The irresponsible king did not call upon parliament for advice, instead ignoring Parliament for many years. This rule of no regulation by Louis XVI made the people see how unfair the circumstances were and put their laws and government into perspective for the way they were living. Because of the neglectfulness of the king, the people were left without another power to keep the balance over their neglectful King. Without Parliament’s influence on the King, the third estate was accessed unfair

In addition to this, the first actual act of revolution against the King was the Tennis Court Oath of 1789 which was prompted by Joseph Sieyes. As the Third Estate often spread the enlightenment values of the rule of government by the people many began to catch on and agree. The Tennis Court Oath was where many finally stood up to the Monarchy and demanded that the Absolute Monarchy be put down. At this point, the Revolution began to take full force and was beginning to become truly radical.

As we all know, America is a nation of sports enthusiasts. Most Americans participate is some kind of sporting event, either as a spectator or as a competitor. In the pantheon of great American sports, there is one that stands out. It has been called the great American pastime. Yes, that great sport known as tennis. Tennis requires a mastery of many skills to be able to play competitively, but the primary skill needed to win in tennis is the serve. The serve is the primary offensive weapon used I tennis, because it is the only time when a player gets to put a ball into play. The player controls the speed, the placement, and the spin of the ball. With proper procedure, the serve can win many points and games for the server. The technique

The Royal Family of France’s attempted escape on June 20th, 1791 made many people very unhappy with the King. The mob, ever ready to exercise the uncontrolled Rights of Men, made a mock parade of the King’s Arms in the market places, and, dashing them and the figure of a crown to the ground, they trampled upon them, crying out, “Since the King has abandoned what he owed to his high situation, let us trample upon the ensigns of royalty” (Ascherson 48)! The Royal Family not only lost many of its followers through their attempted escape, but also because King Louis XVI kept making bad decisions, ones that had no benefit to France or its people. The people wanted someone who would lead them into a revolution and change France for the better, not because they wanted the power, but because they believed in France and wanted it to become a great nation. That man was Robespierre, who after the flight of the King followed the Jacobin club in its move toward republicanism. He called for universal male suffrage and the end of property qualifications for voting and office holding (Blumberg 290). Robespierre wanted to make France a republic, a government for the people and by the people, a country where everyone had the freedoms and rights they deserved. In January of 1793, Robespierre voted on whether or not he thought that King Louis should be executed for his actions. At the Convention on the trial

The French Revolution began as an expression of rebellion against centuries of absolute rule in France. After an interim of experimental liberalism under the rule of Jacobins and Girondins and then the infamous reign of terror, the people of French were drawn to a man who promised them a return to stability, and  honor through the expansion of empire. France and it’s people had long yearned for this sens eof honour, it had seemed, and could finally sens eit in a lasting rpesence under the rule of their prodigious, unbeatable general, Napoleon Bonaparte. He would soon take the reigns of civil government as well and become yet another Absolutist ruler, yet this