10 Jun 2006

International Bundesbrief Society Founded

Philadelphia – The National Constitution Center - To commemorate the momentous occasion of the display of the Bundesbrief, the International Bundesbrief Society (IBBS) was formed. The six new officers gathered at the Bundesbrief to hear remarks from founding IBBS member Jim Scherrer on the history of the Swiss Declaration and the affirmation of the continuing bonds between the United States and Switzerland; sister Republics and sister Democracies.

“The IBBS seeks to spread the news of democratic law, the formation of constitution-based federal republics, and to share the visual and cultural legacy that helps shape our own great civilizations,” said Mr. Scherrer. “We encourage new members, not only of Swiss origin, but a broad international membership consisting of students of public policy, republicanism, and rule of law, to promote and enhance relationships between Swiss-Americans, Switzerland and republics everywhere.”

The IBBS mission is:

• To establish and maintain a society for the encouragement of patriotic and literary fellowship,
• To promote good fellowship among the descendants of those who participated in the creation of the confederation,
• To keep ever in mind the events connected with this most celebrated episode in the annals of human political endeavor,
• To inspire the members of the society and others with admiration and respect for the principles of confederal and constitutional government, and
• To observe the anniversary of the date of this the most famous binding contract and its protections; August 1, 1291.

The Bundesbrief was founded in 1291 by Swiss farmers in the village of Schwyz to declare Switzerland a free and independent country. None of the countrymen were literate, so it is surmised that a Roman cleric from the Vatican wrote the document for them. Translated from German, Bundesbrief means Bundes or to bind, and brief as letter; a bindling letter or contract.

This is the first time the Bundesbrief has left its home in Schwyz. After the display at the National Constitution Center, the document will return home. The Bundesbrief is historically significant for Americans because its founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, used the Bundesbrief as a guide when writing the U.S. Constitution.

The Bundesbrief debuted at the National Constitution Center displayed in the main exhibition area adjacent to The Story of We the People and to the Preamble of the US Constitution so that viewers could appreciate the strong republican and democratic language and symbolism. The Bundesbrief holds a special position as one of several initial kernels in the wider landscape of forms and actions creating our modern republican government which, with vision and hindsight, was subsequently expanded upon and embellished. Like the Magna Carta, the Bundesbrief acts as a touchstone and reference point to the American constitution and the more contemporary new constitutions in Iraq, Afghanistan and Albania. The International Bundesbrief Society seeks to explore how the human mind drives us to create such civil structures and how statesmen and political scientists have helped make the world in which we live. The group explores foundation documents that have paved the way for future success and will aid, to the extent possible, to protect physically and culturally, these treasures that enlighten the world.

The National Constitution Center in Philadelphia was selected as the perfect location to host the first departure of the Bundesbrief from its home place of Schwyz, Switzerland, because of its high-security provisions, its mission of interpretation of national archives, and the strong support of its museum leadership and staff. One of the highest densities of Swiss immigration into America occurred in the Philadelphia area and thus the central location of the National Constitution Center provided excellent viewer impact and high turnout. It is estimated that the one-day turnout and the three subsequent weeks of viewing at the Center exceeded its annual readership in the home country Bundesbrief Archive in Schwyz, Switzerland.

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