Well Served, Revolutionary Style

In 1789, King Louis XVI of France ruled a nation in turmoil. Its national debt, inherited from his grandfather’s reign, was staggering, inflation was rampant and drought conditions leading to poor grain harvests in 1788-89 had in turn led to widespread famine. Desperate to find solutions to the economic crisis, Louis convened the Estates-General, or parliamentary body, consisting of representatives from the three estates or classes; the First, or Clergy, comprising about 0.5 % of the population, Second or Nobles, about 2% of the population, and Third or Commoners, about 97% of the population. Deputies from the Third estate clashed repeatedly with those of the First and Second estates, who wanted no social or political reform which would even the level of heavy taxation currently held by the people of the Third estate, and from which the others were exempt. Nor did the king or First and Second estate deputies want the voting to be done by head, rather than rank, which would give the Third estate the power to be victorious in pushing through the hotly contested reforms.

    On June 17, 1789, the Third estate deputies, in an act considered treasonous by many, declared themselves to be the National Assembly, and decried the power leveraged by the King and other estates, stating instead that they were the true representatives of the people. On June 20, 1789, they found themselves locked out of their normal meeting place, with an edict saying that a royal session would convene two days hence. Unwilling to back down, the Third estate representatives met in an indoor tennis court nearby, and wrote the Tennis Court Oath, which 576 out of 577 of them signed, declaring their intent “…never to separate, and to reassemble wherever circumstances require until the constitution of the kingdom is established and consolidated upon firm foundations.”

    In the opening statement, deputies of the Assembly maintain both their reason and right to convene in a body, reaffirming that where they are met together, “…there is the National Assembly.” This was a bold stance, declaring to both the public and the king their intent to continue to represent the people irrespective of threats from the king, thus appealing to the commonality of the cause in a mixture of both logos and ethos. The second statement embodies their intent to continue to meet and work for the common good, striving to reestablish the constitution in a manner that would address the current ills and work for the betterment of the people. The concluding clause firmly and clearly delineates the resolute nature of the deputies to their cause, stating, “…the said oath being taken, all the members and each individual shall ratify by their signatures this steadfast resolution.” This first act of defiance against the unimpeded rule of the sovereign was the opening scene of the French Revolution.