ABSTRACT
The Revolutionary War had not officially ended before some members of the Second Continental Congress concluded that the Articles of Confederation were not sufficient for forming a single and well- functioning government. Many of those who advanced the Articles' failings began to privately urge the creation of a new constitution. They wanted a federal system that gave the central government more power and that did not depend on the consent and unanimity of the states. Purported Antifederalists were not anti-federalist at all, but were various groups given this label by their Federalist opponents. Federalists employed the Antifederalist characterization for its derogatory inference - "anti" suggesting obstructionism. The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union is a brief document that is fundamentally an agreement for mutual defense, a coordination of foreign policy, and a document for resolving disputes that might arise among the various states.
