Which estate reconstituted itself as the National Assembly on 17 June 1789?

The Third Estate reconstituted itself as the National Assembly on 17 June 1789.

The Estates-General, summoned by Louis XVI, represented France’s three traditional orders: the First Estate, the clergy; the Second Estate, the nobility; and the Third Estate, commoners. Although the Third Estate represented the overwhelming majority of the population, the traditional voting system could allow the privileged orders to outvote it by estate.

A prolonged dispute over whether deputies should verify credentials and vote individually or by order brought the assembly to a standstill. On 17 June, influenced by Abbé Sieyès and other reformers, the Third Estate declared that it represented the nation and adopted the title National Assembly. The vote was 491 to 89 according to commonly cited accounts.

The king opposed the move, but the deputies refused to retreat. When their meeting hall was closed on 20 June, they gathered at a tennis court and swore the Tennis Court Oath, promising not to separate until France had a constitution. The National Assembly later became the National Constituent Assembly on 9 July after the other orders were brought into the new political structure.