Swiss Federal Constitution of 1848

The constitution adopted in 1848 that transformed Switzerland from a loose confederation of sovereign cantons into a federal state with shared national institutions.

Swiss Federal Council: Switzerland’s seven-member executive authority, elected by the Federal Assembly for four-year terms. The constitution placed executive power in a collegial body rather than a single president.
Sonderbund War: A brief 1847 Swiss civil war between a Catholic conservative alliance and the federal majority. The federal victory removed the immediate armed resistance to constitutional centralization.
Swiss nationality: The legal bond linking a person to Switzerland, alongside citizenship in a canton and commune. The constitution established a common Swiss national citizenship across the cantons.
Constitution of the Helvetic Republic: The 1798 constitution that established a centralized unitary republic in Switzerland under French influence. Unlike the Helvetic model, the 1848 constitution preserved cantons within a federal state.
Federal Assembly of Switzerland: Switzerland’s bicameral national legislature, consisting of the National Council and Council of States. The constitution created a legislature representing both the population and the cantons.
Tagsatzung: The assembly of delegates through which the old Swiss Confederation coordinated its member cantons. Its weak, cantonal delegation system was replaced by permanent federal institutions.
Swiss franc: The national currency of Switzerland, introduced in 1850 to replace the cantons’ varied currencies. Federal political unification enabled the later creation of a single national currency.
Act of Mediation: Napoleon’s 1803 settlement that restored cantonal governments while organizing Switzerland as a confederation. It balanced cantonal autonomy and central coordination less permanently than the 1848 constitution.
Council of States: The upper chamber of the Swiss Federal Assembly, in which cantons receive equal or partial representation. Its cantonal representation gave smaller cantons a voice in federal lawmaking.
Swiss Confederation: A political association of Swiss cantons that preceded the federal state founded in 1848. The constitution replaced this loose confederation with a stronger national government.

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