The AHA Council has issued a statement, calling on the Texas State Board of Education to reconsider their recently proposed amendments to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Social Studies.
At its regular meeting on January 5, 2009, the Council of the American Historical Association passed a resolution in keeping with the spirit of a resolution adopted by the business meeting the previous day.
AHA president Gabrielle Spiegel and executive director Arnita Jones sent a letter on December 17, 2008, to Russian Federation president Dmitrii Medvedev, expressing on behalf of the American Historical Association concern over the violent raid on the offices the Russian human rights organization Memorial on December 4. The letter called for the authorities in St. Petersburg to return the wrongfully confiscated materials to the Memorial’s offices so they are available to scholars and uphold the integrity of the archive.
Upon recommendation from the Teaching Division, on June 4, 2007, the AHA Council endorsed the National Council for History Education’s Statement on Teacher Qualifications.
At its biennial meeting on Sunday, June 3, 2007, the AHA Council endorsed endorsed the recent letter from the Middle East Studies Association to protesting the arrests and detention of Dr. Haleh Esfandiari and Dr. Kian Tajbakhsh.
AHA members adopted a January 6 resolution reaffirming the United States Government Practices Inimical to the Values of the Historical Profession. These include the principles of free speech, open debate of foreign policy, and open access to government records in furthering the work of the historical profession; the importance of open inquiry to the pursuit of historical knowledge; and to do whatever they can to bring the Iraq war to a speedy conclusion.
In a letter to Mayor Shirley Franklin of Atlanta, Georgia dated January 10, 2007, AHA President Barbara Weinstein, Past President Linda K. Kerber, and Executive Director Arnita A. Jones, expressed the AHA Council’s concern over an incident between historian Felipe Fernandez-Armesto and an Atlanta police officer, that began with jaywalking and escalated to an 8 hour ordeal in jail.
At its annual business meeting on January 7, 2006, members of the AHA adopted a resolution protesting the United States Government's Abusive Policies toward Foreign Prisoners.
At its annual business meeting on January 7, 2006, the American Historical Association passed a resolution opposing the passage of Academic and Student Bills of Rights and all similar attempts to regulate the academic community.
At its annual business meeting on January 6, 2007, members of the AHA adopted a resolution opposing the Use of "Free Speech Zones" to Restrict Academic Freedom.
Resolved that the American Historical Association supports the addition of history (both U.S. and world history) to the areas of assessment and accountability under the No Child Left Behind Act and calls for systematic efforts, including professional development of in-service teachers, to improve the quality of history teaching at elementary and secondary levels. To bring about these changes, the AHA seeks to work in cooperation with the National Council for History Education, the National Council for Social Studies, and other groups of educators.
The American Historical Association (AHA) sent a letter to the Departments of State and Homeland Security expressing concern over the plight of Dr. Waskar Ari, a member of the Aymara indigenous people of Bolivia and an authority on religious beliefs and political activism among indigenous Bolivians, who has been prevented from taking up his post as assistant professor of History and Ethnic Studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln because he has been placed on a list of individuals under “conspicuous revision.”
The American Historical Association expressed concern to Secretary of State Colin Powell over the United States’ wholesale rejection last week of sixty-one visa applications from Cuban scholars and intellectuals. These Cubans had been invited to attend the national meeting of the Latin American Studies Association to be held in Las Vegas from 7–9 October 2004.
The AHA Council passed a resolution urging the Smithsonian Institution to revise its agreement with the Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation, and for the NMAH to develop a comprehensive plan for the future presentation of American history. This reaction is caused by the AHA Council's concern over the amount of influence shared by private donor representatives.
In response to the harassment of Michael A. Bellesiles after the publication of his book "Arming America: The Origins of a National Gun Culture," the Council of the American Historical Association issued a statement condemning personal attacks upon or harassment of an author. The Council considers such behavior as inappropriate and damaging to a tradition of free exchange of ideas and the advancement of our knowledge of the past.
The OAH and AHA passed a resolution to support the efforts of the joint committee of both organizations to formulate quantitative minimum standards for part-time employment and resolve to produce a guide of best practices in employment of history faculty.
On January 5, 1997, the AHA Council passed a resolution asking the executive director of the National Historical Publications and Records Commission to reconsider its strategic plan, which did not place historical documentary edition projects or nationally significant research projects among its funding priorities.
