The National Assembly and the Tennis Court Oath

The National Assembly17th June 1789

• “the name National Assembly is the only one fitting for the Assembly under present circumstances ; because the members who compose it are the only ones lawfully and publicly known and verified; because they are sent directly by almost the whole nation; And because, lastly, representation being one and indivisible ,

• none of the deputies, from whatever class or order he may be chosen has the right to perform his duties outside the present assembly..

• The National Assembly orders that the motives for the present decision be drawn up immediately to be present to the King and to the nation.. .”

The Tennis Court Oath20 June 1789

The Tennis Court Oath20 June 1789

THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY, CONSIDERING THAT IT HAS BEEN SUMMONED TO ESTABLISH THE CONSTITUTION OF THE KINGDOM, TO EFFECT THE REGENERATION OF PUBLIC ORDER, AND TO MAINTAIN THE TRUE PRINCIPLES OF MONARCHY; THAT NOTHING CAN PREVENT IT FROM CONTINUING ITS DELIBERATIONS IN WHATEVER PLACE IT MAY BE FORCED TO ESTABLISH ITSELF; AND,FINALLY THAT WHERESOEVER ITS MEMBERS ARE ASSEMBLED, THERE IS THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY…..

The Tennis Court Oath20 June 1789

The Tennis Court Oath20 June 1789

…DECREES THAT ALL MEMBERS OF THIS ASSEMBLY SHALL IMMEDIATELY TAKE A SOLEMN OATH NOT TO SEPARATE, AND TO REASSEMBLE WHEREVER CIRCUMSTANCES REQUIRE UNTIL THE CONSTITUTION OF THE KINGDOM IS ESTABLISHED UPON FIRM FOUNDATIONS; AND THAT, THE SAID OATH BEING TAKEN, ALL MEMBERS AND EACH ONE INDIVIDUALLY SHALL RATIFY THIS STEADFAST RESOLUTION BY SIGNATURE”

The Tennis Court Oath20 June 1789

The King’s Response27 June 1789

This response was made after the failure of the Séance Royale of 23 June

“Entirely occupied in upholding the well-being of my Kingdom and desiring above all that the assembly of the Estates General should occupy itself with matters concerning the whole nation, after the voluntary acceptance that your Order has given to my declaration of the 23rd of this month, I desire my faithful nobility to unite without delay with the other two Orders to hasten the accomplishments of my paternal intentions…”

The Tennis Court Oath20 June 1789

The Tennis Court Oath20 June 1789

Historian Alan Forrest“ The deputies who assembled at Versailles were not all

obsessed with the interest and status of their order; what united and divided them was often ideology , the way in which they regarded institutions and social structures…”

They (the deputies) could have backed down fearful…instead they chose to defy the king reasserting their right to form a national assembly without distinction of order and binding themselves to their decision by the Tennis Court Oath. … Bailly was the first to swear … it placed the initiative squarely with the king…”

The Tennis Court Oath20 June 1789

The Tennis Court Oath20 June 1789

Bailly was the first to swear. “ the delegates came forward, their arms raise din

dramatic salute, to take the oath before the tall figure of …Bailly who stood on a table made from a door wrenched off its hinges..”

The one dissentient deputy Martin d’Auche ….. refused to give way and was eventually allowed to register his dissent ‘our of respect for the liberty which all members of the Assembly enjoyed”

The Tennis Court Oath20 June 1789

The Tennis Court Oath20 June 1789

The deputies took considerable personal risks in defying the King’s authority and they were well aware of the risk… Each and every one of them was called upon to take the oath personally placing his own individual safety in jeopardy…”

The Tennis Court Oath20 June 1789

The Tennis Court Oath20 June 1789

Historian Doyle says“ And there took an oath never to separate until they had

given France a constitution. It was one more assertion that they were subject to no other power in France..”

Historian Schama says“ Here they were, as Rousseau intended, stripped down

to elemental citizenship and brotherhood.. A simple pine table was requisitioned from the next door tailor...spectators crammed into the lower galleries and thrust their heads through gallery windows….

The Tennis Court Oath20 June 1789

The Tennis Court Oath20 June 1789

Hibbert“ It was a large building with bare walls and a

blue ceiling picked out with gold fleur de lis. There were no seats other than a bench which was used as a desk and an armchair which was offered to Bailly who refused it.. Outside a huge crowd of people …shouted “Vive l’Assemblee!”

The Tennis Court Oath20 June 1789