The new constitution was drafted at the beginning of 1848 and approved by the Diet. It was then passed by the 22 cantons.

The thrust of the new constitution was to give Switzerland a more centralised government, which took over many of the rights and duties which formerly belonged to the cantons.

In so doing, it opened up the country to economic development by removing internal barriers which had previously prevented the free flow of people, goods and money.

The most important innovations were the establishment of an elected two-chamber Federal Assembly, and of a Federal Council - the government - consisting of seven members with a rotating presidency.

The new constitution gave citizens a number of rights and freedoms, including freedom of the press, freedom of religion, and the right to choose their place of residence.

Another innovation gave citizens the possibility of changing the constitution by popular vote.

However, as everywhere else in the world at that time, only men had the vote.

The new Federal Assembly met for the first time on November 6th 1848, with Liberals in the overwhelming majority.

It elected the first government, with Jonas Furrer as the first president and designated Bern as the capital, or Federal City as it is officially known.

In the next few years the Assembly passed a series of laws centralising and unifying the administration. The Federation took over responsibility for the postal service; it unified the currency and the system of weights and measures. It also abolished the internal toll system, which had acted as a serious brake to trade between cantons.