The American Historical Association promotes historical work and the importance of historical thinking in public life. Incorporated by Congress in 1889, its mission to enhance the work of historians also encompasses professional standards and ethics, innovative scholarship and teaching, academic freedom, and international collaboration. As the largest membership association of professional historians in the world (over 11,000 members), the AHA serves historians in a wide variety of professions, and represents every historical era and geographical area.

Leadership

Promoting new approaches to history education and scholarship and setting professional standards for the discipline

• Expanding career horizons and opportunities of history graduate students through Career Diversity for Historians
• Reconsidering introductory college history courses to better serve students of all backgrounds
• Articulating the value of historical study for civic and professional life
• Advancing the history discipline and promoting excellence in professional behavior, research, and teaching with widely cited AHA Statements and Standards of the Profession
• Publishing analysis on the latest quantitative data on historians’ education and careers
• Developing teaching materials and tools such as the Remote Teaching Resources

Advocacy

A vocal public presence promoting the value of history and historical thinking

Promoting the value of history education

• Share our Teaching History with Integrity resources
• Access our Department Advocacy Toolkit, designed to help departments, administrators, advisers, and students navigate the AHA's library of resources
• Use our Why Study History resources
• Read Op-Ed: History isn’t a ‘useless’ major. It teaches critical thinking, something America needs plenty more of in the LA Times

Providing historical perspectives on contemporary issues

• Follow Perspectives on History for historical context on today’s news
• Hear historians discuss the History behind the Headlines
• Everything has a history. The AHA has developed resources on the history of racist violence, the January 6 insurrection, the Russia-Ukraine war, and the COVID-19 pandemic
• Attend events on the role of history and historical knowledge in public decision-making and civic life from the National History Center

Supporting historians and emphasizing the value of history in contemporary policy and civic life

• Through Teaching History with Integrity, the AHA leads or participates in several initiatives to provide resources and support for history educators facing intensifying controversies about the teaching of the American past
• Watch our videos with historians describing how exploring America's past honestly in the classroom benefits the nation's students, and how the freedom to learn also strengthens our shared democracy: Historians Speak and Confronting a Nation’s Past
• Find the latest AHA Advocacy work on behalf of historians

Community

A platform for historians from all specializations and professions to discuss, disagree, and learn

• AHA membership provides exclusive access to the online community of historians, where you can post questions and receive feedback
• Advancing research, teaching, careers, and more at the AHA’s annual meeting, the largest gathering of historians, held each January
• Attend AHA Online programming and access recordings of past events on the AHA’s YouTube channel, such as Expanding Perspectives: Historians in Retirement and Russia and Ukraine: History Behind the Headlines. 

Teaching History with Integrity: Historians Speak