About the Conference
The Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Hungary cordially invites you to the AMERICA 250 International Conference. Commemorating the semiquincentennial of the United States, this event brings together distinguished scholars from Hungary and the U.S. to explore the enduring legacy of the Declaration of Independence, present-day reflections on the Constitution and foreign policy, and the historical intersections between the United States and Hungary.
Conference Program
Opening Ceremony
Ágnes Beretzky & Melissa Quartell (Cultural Affairs Officer, U.S. Embassy Budapest)
SESSION 1: The Declaration of Independence and Beyond
Chair: Ágnes Beretzky (Károli University)
“We Hold These Truths”: States and the Declaration(s) of Independence
Susan Siggelakis (University of New Hampshire)
“[...] Dependent on his Will alone”. Judicial Independence and the Courage to Dissent
John Kirk Trombley (University of New Hampshire)
The Problem of Slavery in the Political Thought and Practice of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison
Csaba Lévai (University of Debrecen)
SESSION 2: Present-Day Reflections
Constitution, Foreign Policy, Government & Moral Leadership
Chair: Erzsébet Stróbl (Károli University)
The Long Shadow of the Founding Fathers: Struggles Over an Unamendable Constitution
Károly Pintér (Pázmány Péter Catholic University)
The Changing Foreign Policy Making Process
Tamás Magyarics (Eötvös Loránd University, Ambassador to Ireland 2011-2015)
A Republic, If You Can Keep It: American Public Opinion on the United States at 250 years
Andrew Smith (University of New Hampshire)
The Ramifications of Honoring Martin Luther King as a Founding Father
Júlia Fodor (Károli University)
SESSION 3: The United States and Hungary
Chair: Róbert Barta (University of Debrecen)
Challenging Isolationism: Lajos Kossuth in the United States
Géza Jeszenszky (Retired Professor, Corvinus University; Ambassador to Washington 1998-2002; Foreign Minister 1990-1994)
Revolution, Reaction, and Propaganda: the “Exceptional” Nature of the American Revolution
Zoltán Peterecz (Eszterházy Károly Catholic University)
Short Break
The American Response to the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and its Current Relevance (Via Zoom)
László Borhi (Indiana University, Bloomington)
250 and 100: Americans and Hungarians in a Volatile World
Tibor Glant (University of Debrecen and the University of Public Service, Budapest)