Serment du Jeu de paume
When the Estates General convened in May 1789 and aired out their political grievances, many members of each estate found themselves in agreement with the idea that the bulk of France, the Third Estate, was carrying the tax burden without equitable political representation. They even took an oath, the Tennis Court Oath, swearing to pursue their political goals and committing to drafting a constitution which codified equality. Soon, the ideologies of fair and equal treatment by the government and liberation from the old regime diffused throughout France.