Historians have emphasized the founding fathers' statesmanship and vision in the development of a more powerful union under the federal constitution. In "The Origins of the Federal Republic, " Peter S. Onuf clarifies the founders' achievement by demonstrating with case studies of New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Virginia that territorial confrontations among the former colonies played a crucial role in shaping early concepts of statehood and union and provided the true basis of the American federalist system.