The Journal of American History is the official academic journal

Academic journal

An academic journal is a peer-reviewed periodical in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as forums for the introduction and presentation for scrutiny of new research, and the critique of existing research...

 of the Organization of American Historians

Organization of American Historians

The Organization of American Historians , formerly known as the Mississippi Valley Historical Association, is the largest professional society dedicated to the teaching and study of American history. OAH's members in the U.S...

. It covers the field of American history and was established in 1914 as the Mississippi Valley Historical Review, the official journal of the Mississippi Valley Historical Association. After the publication of its fiftieth volume, the recognition of a shift in the direction of the membership and its scholarship led to the name change in 1964.

The journal is headquartered in Bloomington, Indiana

Bloomington, Indiana

Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the southern region of the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 80,405 at the 2010 census....

and is published quarterly, in March, June, September, and December.

As Proceedings of the Mississippi Valley Historical Association

• Benjamin F. Shambaugh (1908–1914)

As Mississippi Valley Historical Review

• Clarence W. Alvord (1914–1923)
• Lester B. Shippee (1923–1924)
• Milo M. Quaife (1924–1930)
• Arthur C. Cole (1930–1941)
• Louis Pelzer (1941–1946)
• Wendell H. Stephenson (1946–1953)
• William C. Binkley (1953–1963)
• Oscar O. Winther (1963–1964)

As Journal of American History

• Oscar O. Winther (1964–1966)
• Martin Ridge (1966–1978)
• Lewis Perry (1978–1984)
• Paul Lucas (1984–1985)
• David Thelen (1985–1999)
• Joanne Meyerowitz (1999–2004)
• David Nord (2004–2005)
• Edward T. Linenthal (2005– )