In the 19th and 20th century, after the establishment of the Swiss federal state, the Charter became the central founding document of Switzerland in the popular imagination.

The participants are referred to as conspirati and (synonymously) coniurati, traditionally translated in German as "Eidgenossen" (and in English as "Confederates").

[2][3] The document is thus not a forgery, tied to the emergence of the modern federal state in 1848, but should rather be seen in the context of Chapter 15 of the Golden Bull of 1356 in which Charles IV outlawed any conjurationes, confederationes, and conspirationes, meaning in particular the city alliances (Städtebünde), but also other communal leagues that had sprung up through the communal movement in medieval Europe.

At the time, agreements were most often verbal, and any documentation drawn up later might have its contents or dates changed to suit current purposes.

The idea to build a dedicated national monument housing the foundational documents of the Confederacy was first proposed in 1891 by federal councillors Emil Welti and Carl Schenk.

This plan was revisited in 1915 during the preparation of the 600th anniversary celebration for the Battle of Morgarten, but its realisation was delayed due to World War I.