The Crucible of Change

I’d like to take you back in time over 200 years to a place in eastern Pennsylvania called Valley Forge. You’ll remember from your history lessons that Valley Forge was the location of one of the darkest periods of the American Revolution – a place where everything was on the line and almost lost. It was December of 1777, and the troops were starving.

Now how could that be? One of the reasons General George Washington had chosen this spot for the winter was because of the ready availability of crops and livestock to support the army. That territory around Valley Forge was the most fertile farmland in the entire 13 colonies. Unfortunately the farmers were loading the harvest into wagons and shipping it 18 miles to the southeast to Philadelphia -- to sell to the British army.

Wasn’t it only 16 months earlier, in July of 1776 that Philadelphia had been the site of the first public reading of the newly printed Declaration of Independence, followed by the ringing of bells for the entire day – the first Independence Day celebration? Now the largest city in America was held by the British forces under General Howe, whose imminent attack had forced Congress to flee the capital and set up temporary headquarters of the new nation farther west.

At the time, everyone had seemed to be so excited by the announcement that the colonies had defied the tyrants that were denying them their inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Now the very people that independence was supposed to help were betraying the new nation by supporting the enemy. What had gone wrong?

What we have in this story is a graphic, even painful example of the challenges that change leaders face while trying to gain widespread acceptance of revolutionary ideas. Were the farmers really traitors to the Glorious Cause or as one leader said at the time, motivated by “boundless avarice? ” A closer look at the facts reveals a perfectly understandable rationale for their actions.

Fact: When farmers sold goods to the British, they were paid in pound sterling. When they sold to the American army, they were paid with Continental certificates that were practically worthless.

Lesson: The highest priority for most people is to feed their families. Few, if any, of the general populace of a society or the rank and file of an organization will put at risk the economic security of their children, even if they believe in the cause.

Fact: Support for the American Revolution was not universal among the colonists. Some were patriots willing to put their lives and fortunes on the line. Some were loyal to the British crown and nothing could sway them. But a majority of citizens were either non-committal about who won or lost the war or whose loyalties shifted back and forth depending on who seemed to be winning at the time.

Lesson: The crux of any change initiative is the hearts and minds of the rank and file and to hold their allegiance when things appear to be falling apart.

Reflection questions:

1) What is similar between this story and the situation in which you find yourself as a change leader? What is different?

2) What lessons can you draw from this story to help you lead more effectively during tumultuous times?


Note: The source of this insightful version of the Valley Forge story is Joseph J. Ellis, American Creation: Triumphs and Tragedies at the Founding of the Republic (NY: Knopf, 2007), 73-77.