The KÁROLI GÁSPÁR UNIVERSITY OF THE REFORMED CHURCH IN HUNGARY

cordially invites you to

AMERICA 250

International Conference

on

 Friday, March 27, 2026

Venue: Károlyi-Csekonics Palota (KCSP), Ball Room, 1088 Budapest, Múzeum u. 17. (Please use this entry to the building.)

9:00-9:15: Opening (Ágnes Beretzky & Melissa Quartell, Cultural Affairs Officer, U.S. Embassy Budapest)

9:15-10:35: SESSION 1: The Declaration of Independence and Beyond

Chair: Ágnes Beretzky (Károli University)

9:15-9:35: Susan Siggelakis, (University of New Hampshire, UNH): “We Hold These Truths”: States and the Declaration(s) of Independence

9:35-9:55: John Kirk Trombley, (UNH): “[...] Dependent on his Will alone”. Judicial Independence and the Courage to Dissent

9:55-10.15: Csaba Lévai (University of Debrecen): The Problem of Slavery in the Political Thought and Practice of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison

10:15-10.35: Discussion

10:35-11:15: KCSP Cigar Room: Tea, Coffee, Fruits & Music

11:15-13:00 SESSION 2: Present-Day Reflections: Constitution, Foreign Policy, Government & Moral Leadership

Chair: Erzsébet Stróbl (Károli University)

11:15-11:35: Károly Pintér (Pázmány Péter Catholic University): The Long Shadow of the Founding Fathers: Struggles Over an Unamendable Constitution

11.35-11.55: Tamás Magyarics, (Eötvös Loránd University, Ambassador to Ireland, 2011-2015): The Changing Foreign Policy Making Process

11.55-12:15: Andrew Smith (UNH): A Republic, If You Can Keep It: American Public Opinion on the United States at 250 years

12:15-12:35 Júlia Fodor (Károli University): The Ramifications of Honoring Martin Luther King as a Founding Father

12:35-13:00 Discussion

13:00-14:00 Buffet Lunch in KCSP

14:00-14:55: SESSION 3a: The United States and Hungary

Chair: Róbert Barta (University of Debrecen)

14:00-14:20: Géza Jeszenszky (Retired Professor, Corvinus University; Ambassador to Washington 1998-2002; Foreign Minister 1990-1994): Challenging Isolationism: Lajos Kossuth in the United States

14:20-14:40: Zoltán Peterecz (Eszterházy Károly Catholic University): Revolution, Reaction, and Propaganda: the “Exceptional” Nature of the American Revolution

14:40-14:55: Discussion

14:55-15.00 Short break

15:00- 16:15: SESSION 3b: The United States and Hungary Cont.

Chair: Róbert Barta (University of Debrecen)

15:00-15:30: László Borhi (Indiana University, Bloomington): The American Response to the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and its Current Relevance. (Via zoom)

15.30-15:50: Tibor Glant (University of Debrecen and the University of Public Service, Budapest): 250 and 100: Americans and Hungarians in a Volatile World

15:50-16:10: Discussion

16:10- Closing Remarks