Providing Historical Perspectives to Policymakers
About the Briefings
The AHA’s Congressional Briefings series seeks to provide Congressional staff members, journalists, and other members of the policy community with the historical context essential to understanding contemporary issues. The sessions are strictly nonpartisan and avoid advancing particular policy prescriptions or legislative agendas. The AHA’s briefings have been attended by staffers from the House of Representatives and the Senate, the White House, and federal agencies and research institutions, and have informed policy decisions at the highest levels.
The AHA is grateful to the Mellon Foundation for its generous support of the Congressional Briefings series.
Past Congressional Briefings
The AHA has hosted Congressional Briefings since 2005, on issues ranging from healthcare policy, to gun rights and regulations, to farm policy, and other topics of importance to Congress.
History and Policy Education Program
The AHA’s History and Policy Education Program (HPEP) brings the principles of the Congressional Briefings program into the classroom to help students appreciate the importance of bringing historical perspectives to contemporary policy conversations. This initiative provides a guide for history educators to develop and host briefings about the historical dimensions of current policy questions, using materials from past briefings.
Upcoming Congressional Briefing
The American Historical Association (AHA) will host a Congressional Briefing offering historical perspectives on how the United States Senate has changed since its establishment. The briefing will take place on Thursday, July 24, at 10:00 a.m. ET in Dirksen Senate Office Building Room G-11. The briefing will feature panelists Joseph Crespino (Emory Univ.), Joanne B. Freeman (Yale Univ.), and Daniel S. Holt (Senate Historical Office), with AHA executive director Sarah Weicksel as moderator.
2023-25 Briefings
June 11, 2025
History of Tariffs
April 7, 2025
History of the Federal Civil Service
March 13, 2025
History of Deportation
January 29, 2025
History of the US House of Representatives
September 24, 2024
American Lesson Plan: Teaching US History in Secondary Schools
September 11, 2024
History of US Military Alliances
Resources from the Briefings
July 28, 2023
History of Immigration at the U.S. Southwestern Border
December 13, 2019
History of Presidential Impeachment
November 4, 2019
Historical Perspectives on the Geopolitics of Middle East Oil
July 29, 2019
History of US-Iran Relations
June 28, 2019
History of Health Care
March 8, 2019
History of Gun Rights and Regulations
Perspectives on the Briefings
For the Press
The AHA is pleased to speak with and provide resources for journalists and the media. If you are a member of the media and would like to submit a request for a referral or interview, please email press@historians.org.