Organization of American Historians
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The Organization of American Historians (OAH), formerly known as the Mississippi Valley Historical Association, is an organization of historians focusing on American history. The OAH is the major organization of historians of the United States, while the American Historical Association is the major organization of historians in the United States.
[edit] History and background
The Mississippi Valley Historical Association was formed in October 1907 at a meeting in Lincoln, Nebraska, of seven historical societies of the Mississippi Valley. The organization, devoted to studying the Mississippi Valley region, began quarterly publication in 1914 of the Mississippi Valley Historical Review. As the scholarly emphasis of the organization and its journal developed and spread over time, its initial emphasis on the Mississippi Valley waned, in favor of an approach focusing more broadly on the United States. In recognition of this, and of the publication of the fiftieth volume of the Mississippi Valley Historical Review, the name of the journal was changed to the Journal of American History and the organization, correspondingly, was rechristened the Organization of American Historians.
Headquartered in Bloomington, Indiana, the OAH was admitted to the American Council of Learned Societies in 1971. While the organization is primarily composed of professional academic historians, anyone with an interest in the OAH's broader mission -- which "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" -- is eligible to join. Presently, its individual membership is approximately 9,000 and its institutional membership approximately 2,500. The OAH's current president is Nell Irvin Painter (2007-2008) and its president-elect is Pete Daniel, National Museum of American History (2008-2009).
[edit] List of OAH Presidents
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[edit] External links
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