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In an impassioned call to action, Drew Gilpin Faust, former president of Harvard University, has urged Americans to defend the values of freedom, autonomy, and democracy against contemporary threats. Faust emphasized the importance of speaking out to uphold these principles, drawing parallels between current challenges and those faced during the US Civil War.

In a guest opinion essay for the New York Times, Faust emphasized the legacy of the Union soldiers who fought and died between 1861 and 1865 to preserve democracy. She invoked the memories of prominent historical figures such as Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, who were pivotal in the fight against slavery and the preservation of the Union. "We must honor these men," Faust wrote, making a case for vocal and active civic engagement.

Without explicitly naming the current US administration, Faust highlighted the risks to constitutional checks and the rule of law that have escalated under Donald Trump's presidency. She noted the worldwide threats to democracy from autocratic leaders in Budapest, Moscow, and Beijing, who are openly admired by the US president. Faust warned that the subservience of Congress and the defiance of judicial mandates pose significant dangers to democratic governance.

The former Harvard president also took issue with the Trump administration's recent threats against the university. Harvard has been accused of antisemitism and bias while also facing administrative actions aimed at controlling its academic decision-making. Trump’s threats include revoking federal permissions necessary for enrolling international students and reviewing substantial federal funding, actions that led Harvard to file lawsuits against the government for constitutional violations.

On social media, Trump suggested reallocating $3 billion of Harvard’s federal grant money to trade schools, a move condemned by current Harvard president Alan Garber, who labeled the demands as illegal attempts to control university operations.

Concluding her essay, Faust, a historian who led Harvard from 2007 to 2018, stressed the importance of honoring past sacrifices by actively defending the democratic values that Union soldiers fought to protect. She urged Americans to fulfill their obligation to the future by not squandering the legacy bequeathed to them by those who risked all for the nation's preservation.