The article is devoted to the analysis of the intellectual discourse on the conclusion of the Union 1707 between England and Scotland, a union that had a long prehistory in the relationship between the two kingdoms. The authors of the article consider two competing positions on the conclusion of the Union. The first one, presented by Scottish intellectuals, suggested the federal principles of the structure of the United Kingdom. This position is considered on the example of the writings of Francis Grant, Andrew Fletcher and James Hodges. They were opposed in their skillfully honed writings by D. Defoe, who was specially sent to Edinburgh to promote the idea of incorporating Scotland into the United Kingdom of Great Britain. Defoe's position is reconstructed on the basis of the newspaper “Review” published by him in Edinburgh, a series of essays written on this occasion, as well as an extensive work “History of the Union” (1709).