How did the delegates of the Second Continental Congress prepare for peace and war at the same time?

After months of fierce debate, on November 15, 1777, the Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation, which established a unicameral legislature that served as the fledgling nation's governing authority until 1788. The Continental Congress effectively transformed a collection of disparate colonies into a country under a functioning central government, and the Articles of Confederation served as the constitution of the new United States-until 1789