Switzerland as a federal state
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (September 2012) |
| History of Switzerland |
|---|
 |
| Early history |
|
| Old Swiss Confederacy |
|
| Transitional period |
|
| Modern history |
|
| Timeline |
| Topical |
|
 Switzerland portal |
The rise of Switzerland as a federal state began on 12 September 1848, with the creation of a
Sonderbund War
In 1847, the period of
The Sonderbund was in violation of the Federal Treaty of 1815, §6, which forbade separate alliances, and the Radical majority in the Tagsatzung dissolved it on 21 October 1847. A confederate army was raised against the members of the Sonderbund, composed of soldiers of all the other states except Neuchâtel and Appenzell Innerrhoden, which stayed neutral. Ticino, while a Catholic canton, did not join the Sonderbund and fought alongside the Protestants.
The war lasted for less than a month, causing fewer than 100 casualties. Apart from small riots,[3] this was the last armed conflict on Swiss territory.
At the end of the Sonderbund War, the Diet debated a new
Federal Constitution
1848 Constitution
The new constitution created, for the first time, Swiss citizenship in addition to cantonal citizenship.
A federal central government was set up to which the cantons gave up certain parts of their sovereign rights. The
The judiciary (Bundesgericht) was made up of eleven members elected for three years by the Federal Assembly. The Bundesgericht was chiefly confined to civil cases in which the Confederation was a party, but also took in great political crimes.[2] All constitutional questions are however reserved for the Federal Assembly.
A federal university and a polytechnic school were to be founded. All capitulations were forbidden in the future. All cantons were required to treat Swiss citizens who belonged to one of the Christian confessions like their own citizens.[2] Previously, citizens of one canton regarded citizens of the others as the citizens of foreign countries. All Christians were guaranteed the exercise of their religion but the Jesuits and similar religious orders were not to be received in any canton. German, French and Italian were recognized as national languages.[2]
Although there was now a fully organized central government, Switzerland was a very decentralized federation. Most authority remained with the cantons, including all powers not explicitly granted to the federal government. One of the first acts of the Federal Assembly was to exercise the power given them of determining the home of the Federal authorities (the de facto capital of the newly created confederation), and on 28 November 1848 Bern was chosen. The first Federal Council sat on 16 November 1848, composed entirely of Radicals (predecessors of the Free Democratic Party).
Some of the first acts of the new Federal Assembly were to unify and standardize daily life in the country. In 1849 a uniform
In 1859,
In 1866 the rights granted only to Christians (free movement and freedom of religion) under the 1848 Constitution were extended to all Swiss regardless of religion.
1874 Revised Constitution
From 1848 onwards the cantons continually revised their constitutions, with most including the introduction of the referendum, by which laws made by the cantonal legislature may (facultative referendum) or must (obligatory referendum) be submitted to the people for their approval. It was therefore only natural that attempts should be made to revise the federal constitution of 1848 in a democratic and centralizing sense, for it had been provided that the Federal Assembly, on its own initiative or on the written request of 50,000 Swiss electors, could submit the question of revision to a popular vote.[2] The first attempt at a revision in 1872 was defeated by a small majority, owing to the efforts of the anti-centralizing party. Finally, however, another draft was preferred, and on the 19 April 1874, the new constitution was accepted by the people – 141⁄2 cantons against 71⁄2 (those of 1848 without Ticino, but with Fribourg and Lucerne).[2]
The Constitution of 1874 further strengthened the federal power. The revised Constitution included three major points. First, a system of free elementary education was set up, under the superintendence of the Confederation, but managed by the cantons. Second, a man settling in another canton was, after three months (instead of two years in the 1848 Constitution), given all cantonal and communal rights (formerly only cantonal rights were granted). Finally, the referendum was introduced in its "facultative" form; i.e., all federal laws must be submitted to popular vote on the demand of 30,000 Swiss citizens or of eight cantons. The Initiative (i.e., the right of compelling the legislature to consider a certain subject or bill) was not introduced into the Federal Constitution until 1891 (when it was given to 50,000 Swiss citizens) and then only as to a partial (not a total) revision of that constitution.[2]
Industrialisation and economic growth
The 1847 to 1914 period saw the development of the
. TheThe
Banking emerged as a significant factor in Swiss economy with the foundation of the Union Bank of Switzerland in 1862, the Swiss Bank Corporation in 1872.
The golden age of alpinism in the 1850s–60s laid the foundation to the tourism industry.
See also
- Federalism in Germany
- Enlargement of Switzerland
- Alemannic separatism
- Augustin Keller
- Switzerland
Notes and references
- ^ Coolidge, William Augustus Brevoort (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 26 (11th ed.). In 1850, the population was 59.3% Protestant and 40.6% Catholic
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Coolidge, William Augustus Brevoort (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 26 (11th ed.).
- Swiss Army in Genevain 1932
- ^ Cst. art. 174
External links
Major topics | |||||||||
| History | .svg) | ||||||||
| Geography |
| ||||||||
| Politics | |||||||||
| Economy | |||||||||
| Society |
| ||||||||
