AHA Resources
Tracking Federal Actions Affecting History
The AHA is tracking information on federal actions and their impact on history and education.
Submit Your Op-Ed
AHA members: The AHA welcomes submissions of op-eds, media appearances, or other resources that offer context and insight to the public on the recent actions by the federal government. Submissions should specifically address federal actions that pertain to history, the work of historians, and historical thinking in public life.
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. The AHA can find you a historian for any topic, and assists with dozens of inquiries each year.
Op-Ed Writing for Historians: How to Pitch, Write, Revise, and Get Your Ideas to the Public
Writing short articles for the general public is an important skill in the historian’s toolkit. A panel of experienced editors and writers discussed how to pitch and write op-eds meant for a general audience, as well as what to expect from the editorial process.
AHA Statements, Action Alerts, & Letters
"Historians Defend the National Endowment for the Humanities and American Public Culture," April 4, 2025.
"National Humanities Alliance: DOGE Rescinds NEH Grants," April 4, 2025.
“Historians Defend the Smithsonian,” March 31, 2025.
“American Historical Association Condemns Indiscriminate Cuts to the Federal Government,” March 24, 2025.
“Action Alert: Defend the Institute for Museum and Library Services,” March 19, 2025.
“AHA–OAH Joint Statement on Federal Censorship of American History,” March 13, 2025.
James Grossman, "Washington, DC’s Shifting Landscape," February 25, 2025.
“AHA Letter to White House Regarding Dismissal of US Archivist,” February 10, 2025.
"AHA–OAH Statement on Executive Order “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K–12 Schooling,” February 5, 2025.
James Grossman, "On the K–12 Education Executive Order," January 30, 2025.
Support the AHA
These statements, letters, and op-eds represent only one aspect of the AHA’s advocacy on behalf of historians employed by the federal government. Among other efforts, we are engaging with federal historians on how best to support them and their agencies, closely monitoring legislation and executive orders and tracking job losses for historians, and coordinating with AHA affiliates and other partners on critical advocacy to support historians and history education at the federal and state levels. Please donate to the AHA's Advocacy Fund to support this vital work.
AHA Executive Director Interviews & Op-Eds
Daniel Hamburg, “Trump’s executive order could reshape Smithsonian museums, sparking controversy,” (DC News Now, April 1, 2025).
Michel Martin, “Historian James Grossman discusses Trump order to overhaul Smithsonian Institution,” (NPR Morning Edition, March 31, 2025).
Jennifer Vanasco and Elizabeth Blair, “How will Trump's executive order affect the Smithsonian?” (NPR All Things Considered, March 30, 2025).
Zachary Small and Jennifer Schuessler, “Trump Calls on Smithsonian Institution to Promote ‘American Greatness’,” (New York Times, March 28, 2025).
Ali Swenson and Gary Fields, “The National Archives is nonpartisan but has found itself targeted by Trump,” (Associated Press, February 26, 2025).
David W. Blight, Beth English, and James Grossman, “Trump May Wish to Abolish the Past. We Historians Will Not,” (The New Republic, February 6, 2025).
James Grossman, “On the K–12 Education Executive Order,” (American Historical Association, January 30, 2025).
Dora Mekouar, “Here's what happened when previous US presidents tried to downsize government,” (Voice of America, January 12, 2025).
AHA Member Op-Eds
Syrus Jin, "The U.S. Has Never Known What To Do With Foreign Students," (Foreign Policy, April 9, 2025).
Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, "Here’s What One of Trump’s Grantee Termination Letters Looks Like," (The New Republic, April 8, 2025).
Conor William Howard, "The Danger of Adjusting State Borders to Reflect Political Divides," (Time, April 7, 2025).
John R. Vile, "Control of Smithsonian Institution Exhibits," (Free Speech Center at Middle Tennessee State University, April 7, 2025).
Thomas A. Foster, "What it’s like to be a US historian right now," (The Hill, April 2, 2025).
Brendan A. Shanahan, "A Century-Long Battle Over the Census is Brewing," (Time, April 2, 2025).
Karin Wulf, “The Humanities as Canary: Understanding This Crisis Now,” (Scholarly Kitchen, April 2, 2025).
Kellie Carter Jackson, “Trump will not stop until every American relic reflects his imaginary world view,” (The Guardian, April 1, 2025).
David W. Blight, “Trump Cannot Win His War on History,” (New York Times, March 31, 2025).
David M. Perry, “A Truly Patriotic Education Tells Many Stories,” (Foreign Policy, March 31, 2025).
Melissa Bokovoy, “Digital erasure: How the federal government is diminishing New Mexico's history,” (Albuquerque Journal, March 30, 2025).
Michael Roth, "Appeasing President Donald Trump Won’t Work," (Time, March 28, 2025).
Hidetaka Hirota, "The Long American Tradition of Categorizing Immigrants as Either Good or Bad," (Time, March 26, 2025).
Tanya Roth, "Women’s Work: Section 213 and the Women Fired from the Federal Government," (Saturday Evening Post, March 24, 2025).
Quinn Slobodian, "Does Trump Want America to Look More Like Saudi Arabia?" (New York Times, March 15, 2025).
Christine Adams, "What 1860s Prussia Can Teach Us About Constitutional Crises," (Time, March 13, 2025).
Eliga Gould, "George Washington, a real estate investor and successful entrepreneur, knew the difference between running a business and running the government," (The Conversation, March 10, 2025).
Mark Tseng-Putterman, "Cultural Exchange Between the U.S. and China Before the Social Media Era," (Time, March 10, 2025).
Rebecca Brenner Graham, "The 1930s Case That Sparked a Debate About Deportation," (Time, March 4, 2025).
Jacob Bruggeman and Casey Eilbert, "Clinton and Gore’s Attempts at Government Reform Highlight the Challenges Ahead for DOGE," (Time, March 4, 2025).
John A. Ragosta, "Time to Celebrate a President, Not a King" (RealClearHistory, February 17, 2025).
Johann Neem, “Donald Trump Is No Longer the President of the United States,” (Substack, February 12, 2025).
Johann Neem, “Nonprofits Are at the Core of American Democracy. Now They’re Under Threat,” (Time, January 2, 2025).
AHA Member Media Appearances
Benjamin Park, “The Truth About Patriotic Education—And Why It’s Dangerous,” (YouTube, April 1, 2025).
Martha S. Jones, “Americans ‘want to know history and not a fairy tale’: Historians on Trump rewriting US History,” (MSNBC, March 30, 2025).
Michael Roth, interviewed in Calder McHugh, "A College President Gets Real About Trump’s Attack on Universities," (Politico, March 12, 2025).
Michael Roth, interviewed in Perry Bacon Jr., "A college president offers a class in standing up to Trump," (Washington Post, February 18, 2025).
Other Resources & Initiatives
American Council of Learned Societies
“Joint Statement on Cuts to the National Endowment for the Humanities,” April 3, 2025.
“Joint Statement in Support of the Smithsonian Institution,” March 31, 2025.
“ACLS Member Societies Respond to Executive Orders Impacting Higher Education,” March 25, 2025.
National Humanities Alliance
“NHA Statement on Threats to the NEH,” April 1, 2025.
Organization of American Historians
Federal Employees and Contractors Oral History Project
Records at Risk Data Collection Initiative
Resources for Federal Historians
The AHA supports historians employed by the federal government. We appreciate the important work they do every day to preserve, chronicle, and interpret American history. The AHA recognizes that our colleagues in the federal government are facing unprecedented workforce reductions and has compiled resources in support, and are offering one year of free membership in the AHA to former employees of the federal government who have been terminated or resigned since January 20.