Collective Commitment Quotes



Sometimes called the “Tennis Court Oath.” (See {587555}.) The deputies (legislators) had been locked out of their usual chamber by the king and so they met nearby in an indoor tennis court (actually a handball court). They took an oath to work together for a Constitution for France. This was the first assertion of revolutionary authority by the Third Estate (the nobility was the 1st, the clergy the 2nd and the people—97% the Third Estate) and it united virtually all its members to common action.