1848, Sept. 12. 2001. The Encyclopedia of World History

The Encyclopedia of World History. 2001.


1848, Sept. 12

The New Constitution replaced the Pact of 1815. It organized Switzerland as a federal union closely modeled on that of the United States. While preserving the historical local government of the cantons, it established a strong central government. Legislative authority resided in two chambers: the Council of State (Ständerat), consisting of two members from each canton, and the National Council (Nationalrat), members of which were elected by universal male suffrage in numbers proportional to the population of each canton. The executive was a Federal Council (Bundesrat) of seven members, elected by the two chambers. Its annual chairman was given the title “president of the Confederation,” but he enjoyed no wider powers than his colleagues.	1
International response to the Swiss revolutions has often been underestimated because of the much longer and well-discussed French revolution of 1848. European newspapers carried news of the Swiss revolution throughout 1847. The Swiss situation received praise from Marx and Engels. Crowds in France and Italy cheered at the Swiss success, and Metternich feared that the radical Swiss victory would spread liberalism and radicalism throughout Europe. (See Switzerland)	2


The Encyclopedia of World History, Sixth edition. Peter N. Stearns, general editor. Copyright © 2001 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Maps by Mary Reilly, copyright © 2001 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.