Ray Billington, OAH president in 1962–63, detailed four issues that arose and caused bitter quarreling during the discussion about the proposed name change in a 1978 Journal of American History essay: the desire to use the association's prestige to fight for liberal reforms, to change the association's name to represent a national scope, to democratize its oligarchical structure, and to take a firm stand against racial discrimination in terms of hotels and meeting cities.

[6][7][8] Indiana University was selected as home for the editorial offices of the Mississippi Valley Historical Review predecessor to the Journal of American History in 1963.

[11][12][13] Previous briefs include those submitted for Perry v. Hollingsworth, U.S. v. Windsor,[14] Obergefell v. Hodges,[15][16] and In re: National Prescription Opiate Litigation.

And, in 2021 it began producing a public webinar series, The Future of the Past, that looks at the diverse history behind contemporary events, such as the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

In addition to the Executive Board, there are forty-seven service and award committees made up of approximately 350 member volunteers who serve two or three year terms.

The conference (previously the annual meeting) has been held every year since the organization began, with the exception of 1945 due to war time restrictions.

The OAH serves as the program manager, overseeing the historians working on the various projects and ensuring their timely completion.

[24][25] The Distinguished Lectureship Program (DLP), the OAH speakers bureau, was established in 1980 by then president Gerda Lerner as a way of bringing the expertise of members to a broader audience.

In addition to traditional, in-person events, the program began offering the option of virtual lectures in 2020.

[26] The Mississippi Valley Historical Review began in 1914 and was published quarterly under that name until 1962 when it was changed to the Journal of American History.