The American Historical Association is a nonprofit membership organization founded in 1884 and incorporated by Congress in 1889 for the promotion of historical studies. The AHA provides leadership for the discipline by protecting academic freedom, developing professional standards, supporting scholarship and innovative teaching, and helping to sustain and enhance the work of historians. As the largest organization of professional historians in the world, the AHA represents nearly 12,000 members and serves historians representing every historical period and geographical area in a wide variety of professions. AHA members include K –12 teachers; independent scholars; academics at two- and four-year colleges and universities; graduate and undergraduate students; and historians in museums, historical organizations, libraries and archives, and in government and business roles; and countless people who, whatever their profession, possess an abiding interest in history. For more information about the AHA, visit our official web site at http://www.historians.org/ To become a member, click here: http://www.historians.org/join