The Council of the American Historical Association rejected the affiliation application of Historians Against the War. HAW was informed of the rejection in a letter from AHA executive director Arnita A. Jones to Ben Alpers, who filed HAW’s request for affiliation, which read in part:
Dear Dr. Alpers:
I regret to inform you that the Council of the American Historical Association was not able to approve Historians Against the War’s application for affiliation. A majority of the members on Council were troubled by HAW’s membership criteria requiring anyone joining the organization to sign a statement opposing the war. Specifically, members believed this requirement establishes a political litmus test that conflicted with the AHA’s criteria for affiliation. (“The Association will not consider for affiliation any organization that discriminates on the basis of … ideology or political affiliation”). But more generally, a majority of the Council believed that the Association could not confer affiliate status on an organization focused on one side of a current
political debate, rather than historical study of the subject.Given those concerns, we cannot accept your application at this time.
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