The Organization of American Historians is the largest learned society devoted to the study of American history. Since its founding in 1907 as the Mississippi Valley Historical Association, the OAH has promoted the study and teaching of the American past through its many activities. The work of the organization is supported by our members and contributions of its supporters. We invite you to learn more about the organization and encourage you to support its efforts by becoming a member today.

Stay Up-to-date with the latest history-related news from Washington

The complex and painful history of Antebellum Slavery

On the subject of slavery, John Hope Franklin said and wrote many things, but one of these seems particularly relevant for introducing this issue of the OAH Magazine of History on antebellum slavery. "We should never forget slavery," he said in 1994, when a controversy was raging over the reenactment of a slave auction at Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia. "We should talk about it every morning and every day of the year to remind this country that there's an enormous gap between its practices and its professions." As guest editor Susan O'Donovan notes in her fine Foreword to this issue, coming to grips with antebellum slavery has been particularly difficult for Americans.

2009 OAH Distinguished Lectureship Program

OAH is pleased to present a robust roster of OAH Distinguished Lecturers, speaking on a wide range of topics, from "The American Revolution in Global Perspective," "Abraham Lincoln as a Self-Made Man," and "Well-behaved Women Seldom Make History" to "What is Digital History?," "Interpreting African American History in American Museums," and "Making Thinking Visible in the History Classroom."

OAH Debuts 2009 Best Essays
on Abraham Lincoln

OAH and Palgrave Macmillan are proud to announce the fourth annual Best Essays in American History volume, which showcases the best American history essays on Abraham Lincoln. Edited by Sean Wilentz, the Sidney and Ruth Lapidus Professor in the American Revolutionary Era at Princeton University, this fourth volume provides "impeccable scholarship and deliberate judgment on display throughout."

Teaching American History in a Global Perspective

Recognizing the urgent need for students to understand the emergence of the United States' power and prestige in relation to world events, the OAH and the College Board has just published, America on the World Stage: A Global Approach to U.S. History, which reframes the teaching of American history in a global context.

OAH Hosts National Collaborative
for Women's History Sites

The OAH serves as an online host to the National Collaborative for Women's History Sites (NCWHS) web site. NCWHS supports and promotes the preservation and interpretation of sites and locales that bear witness to women's participation in American life. The Collaborative makes women's contributions to history visible so that all women's experiences and potential are fully valued.

The Organization of American Historians promotes excellence in the scholarship, teaching, and presentation of American history, and encourages wide discussion of historical questions and equitable treatment of all practitioners of history.