Gettysburg, PA — The Eisenhower Institute at Gettysburg College will hold its annual Democracy Week September 14–19 under the theme this year is America at 250: Our Democracy, Our World. The week will bring together three major programs examining American democracy through history, voting rights and international affairs.
The week will begin Monday, September 14, at 4:00 p.m. in the CUB Ballroom with the Susan Eisenhower Lecture, From the Arsenal of Democracy to the Civil Rights Era: How World War II Transformed America. Susan Eisenhower, the Eisenhower Institute’s Expert-in-Residence, will examine how World War II transformed the American economy and social systems, affected American democracy and helped lay the groundwork for the Civil Rights Era of the 1960s. A reception will follow the lecture.
On Thursday, September 17, at 12:00 p.m., the Constitution Day Lunch and Learn will take place in The Lyceum, third floor of Penn Hall. Alauna Safarpour, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Gettysburg College, will present The Vote at 250: Progress and Peril, examining the expansion of suffrage, continuing legal and political debates involving the Voting Rights Act, voting access and partisan gerrymandering, and the relevance of the November 2026 midterm elections.
On Saturday, September 19, from 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. in the CUB Ballroom, the World Affairs Council of Harrisburg will present the 2026 International Peace Symposium, with the Eisenhower Institute serving as a co-sponsor. The program, 2026 International Peace Symposium: Peace or Forever Wars? Reclaiming America’s Soft Power & Diplomacy, will examine diplomacy, soft power, relationships with allies, international conflict and America’s global influence.
Susan Eisenhower is the Eisenhower Institute’s Expert-in-Residence, and Safarpour is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Gettysburg College. Together, the week’s programs connect historical and contemporary questions about democracy at home with the country’s role in the world.
Democracy Week, commemorates President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s signing of Proclamation 3151. The proclamation designated a week in September as Constitution Week, a time for the contemplation and commemoration of the historic acts that resulted in the formation of the U.S. Constitution. Constitution Day and Citizenship Day are recognized nationwide each September 17 to observe the signing of the United States Constitution in Philadelphia in 1787.
The Eisenhower Institute at Gettysburg College connects aspiring young leaders with public policy experts to discover their passion and tackle society’s most challenging issues. We are nonpartisan, inspired by President Eisenhower’s approach of engaging diverse people and ideas to find common ground and take action.
