Jean Sylvain Bailly participant of French Revolution
During the French Revolution
In a short period of time, Bailly made his way up the judicial ranks. From being the deputy of Paris, he was elected Estates-General on 20 May 1789.: 96  Soon after he was elected inaugural president of the National Assembly (3 June 1789): 98  and led the famous proceedings in the Tennis Court on 20 June, being the first to take the Tennis Court Oath.: 359  In the National Assembly (French Revolution) Bailly was one of the deputies who secured the passage of a decree that declared Jews to be French citizens on 17 September 1791. He was met with threats and ridicule for this action. This decree repealed the special taxes that had been imposed on the Jews, as well as all the ordinances existing against them.Bailly was a member of the Club de 1789, one of the best-known societies at the time.: 98   Though calls on his time from his mayoral duties restricted his involvement in the group, by May 1790, Bailly had risen to presiding officer of the club.  In 1791, Jean Sylvain Bailly joined the Jacobin Club, but took no active role in it.
Shortly after the storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789, he became the first mayor of Paris under the newly adopted system of the Commune.: 348