What event brought seven Catholic cantons of Switzerland together to create a federal constitution?
Switzerland as a federal state The rise of Switzerland as a federal state began on 12 September 1848, with the creation of a federal constitution in response to a 27-day civil war in Switzerland, the "Sonderbundskrieg". The constitution, which was heavily influenced by the United States Constitution and the ideas of the French Revolution, was modified several times during the following decades and wholly replaced in 1999. The constitution represents the first time that the Swiss were governed by a strong central government instead of being simply a collection of independent cantons bound by treaties.
Mandatory referendum The mandatory referendum (German: "obligatorisches Referendum" , French: "référendum obligatoire" , Italian: "referendum obbligatorio" , Romansh: "referendum obligatoric" ) is an instrument of direct democracy in Switzerland. It is a mechanism that holds mandatory votation of some decisions of the federal, cantonal, or municipal parliament and/or government, such as modifications of the Constitution or adhesion to supranational communities on a federal or cantonal level, or for example substantial financial decisions decreed by cantonal and/or communal executive and/or legislative bodies.