In response, Harvard requested that it be placed “out of the reach of ordinary political strife and change” and into the “hands of alumni who have the interests of education most at heart.” On April 29, 1865, this radical proposal scraped through the Massachusetts General Court (the state’s bi-cameral legislature), owing to intense lobbying and the goodwill generated by Harvard alumni’s distinguished service for the Union during the Civil War.
哈佛大学对此的反应是要求被置于“常规政治冲突和变化之外”，交给“真心实意心系教育的校友手中”。1865年4月29日，这一激进方案勉强获得了马萨诸塞州法院（Massachusetts General Court，该州两大立法机构之一）的批准，其中不懈的游说活动以及哈佛校友在内战中为南方邦联做出的杰出贡献所赢得的声望居功至伟。至此以后，哈佛董事会就一直由校友控制。