The Sister Republics. Switzerland and the United States
from 1776 to the Present
By James H. Hutson.
The Library of Congress, Washington 1991.
77 pages. ISBN 0-8444-0762-3. $7.95
Book available from Amazon.com USA or from amazon.com UK
Reviewed by: Karl Jauch, ACA board member in Geneva.
This is the kind of fascinating information to be found in this short but very interesting book devoted to various events in Swiss-American history. Other topics treated include two instruments in direct political democracy: the initiative and the referendum, now used in 23 American state governments. On the other hand, Switzerland's constitution of 1848 was modelled after the US Constitution of 1787.
The arrival of Swiss immigrants in the USA over the years has had a deep influence on Swiss-American relations and this subject is also treated in the book. Interesting to note is the fact that many estimates have largely under-counted the real number of Swiss immigrants.
Other interesting episodes concern the American Civil War which found Swiss soldiers on both sides (but with a predominance in the Union Army). In 1847 Switzerland had had its own civil war (The Sonderbund) and many saw parallel causes in the two conflicts.
Based on an exhibit called the Sister Republics at the Library of Congress in May 1991, and now in its second edition, this book is an absolute must-read for anybody interested in Swiss-American history.