?
“I will close this catalogue of the evils of the dissolution of the Union by recalling to your mind what passed in the year 1781. Such was the situation of our affairs then, that the power of dictator was given to the commander-in-chief, to save us from destruction. This shows the situation of the country to have been such as to make it ready to embrace an actual dictator. At some future period, will not our distresses impel us to do what the Dutch have done — throw all power into the hands of a stadtholder?”
VA dumped representative government and appointed a dictator to deal with Cornwallis and Tarleton ravishing the state in 1781. The governor was given dictatorial powers. Of what service were the newly ratified Articles? Oh, and Patrick Henry was offered the dictatorship. He was such a strong supporter of the Articles, he refused. That is understandable since no one believes their baby is ugly. Henry put his ideology ahead protecting the lives of his people. See http://www.newrivernotes.com/va/varev8.htm