History teaching to-day is entering upon the period of conscious endeavor, and neither college professor nor high school instructor can afford to ignore this fact. By far the strongest element in raising the standards of history teaching has been the historical associations and the organizations of history teachers, which, during the past twenty years, have faced many problems of the history teacher. It is well nigh impossible for all of us to solve all these problems individually, although some of us may solve some of them. We need the comparison of ideas and of experiences which can be gained in the organizations; we need the inspiration coming from association with the strongest minds of the profession; we need the personal acquaintances which grow out of such meetings. The alma mater,--generous, inspiring, appreciative,--of historical study and teaching in America, is the American Historical Association. For twenty-five years its stronger members have given of their strength, its weaker members have received inspiration, and its younger members have been encouraged to higher work by its appreciation of their labors. Its membership is open to all interested in the study, the writing, or the teaching of history, upon the payment of a small fee. The best work which the association performs for its members is the holding of the annual meetings, which are not only opportunities to hear learned or practical discussions of historical questions, but also a means through which the history teachers and writers of the country can be brought in personal contact with one another. It is this social element, say all who have attended the meetings, which constitutes their most valuable feature. Members of the association receive a quarterly magazine, “The American Historical Review,” containing original contributions to historical knowledge, and reviews of recent historical works in all the modern languages; and also two volumes of annual reports of the association. For the convenience of members living in the extreme West, a Pacific Coast branch has been organized, the members of which meet annually in the West, but they receive all the publications of the parent society. Not history teachers alone, but all interested in the subject, are eligible to membership in the national association. Not so with the principal sectional organizations,--the New England, the Middle States and Maryland, and the North Central history teachers’ associations. These are designed primarily for the stimulation of those engaged in teaching the subject; their meetings discuss not so much the content of history and its sources, as the form and method of presentation, the choice of subject-matter, and the relation of history teaching in the school to that in the college. The associations have arranged to exchange publications, so that the teacher who is a member of any one of the associations receives the publications of each of the others.