The Georgia Association of Historians (GAH) was organized in 1973 as a statewide professional organization for the study of history. The purpose of the organization, according to the Constitution, is as follows:

The purpose of the association shall be to strengthen the historical profession and to enhance the professional lives of historians in Georgia by any of all of the following:

1. Holding meetings, conferences, seminars, or symposia concerned with historical topics. Encouraging and promoting historical research, preservation, record keeping, and publication. Publishing journals or magazines devoted to history. Encouraging and promoting high standards in the teaching of history. Sponsoring the appearance in Georgia of outstanding historians. Recognizing excellence in historical research and publication, in service to the profession, and in teaching of history by appropriate awards or prizes. Encouraging and promoting public history. Fostering professional and social communication among historians. Encouraging and promoting historians in training. Engaging in other appropriate activities which are in keeping with the purpose of the association. Members of the GAH are not required to live in the state of Georgia, nor are they topically limited to the study of the history of Georgia. Members of the society currently pursue a variety of historical interests, including the United States history, public history, European history, Middle Eastern history, Latin American history, to name a few. Annual meetings, held since 1974, are the primary venue of face to face communication between members. These meetings rotate to different sites around the state, and most recently were held in Kennesaw (2004) and Americus(2003).

In 1980, the GAH began publication of Proceedings and Papers of the Georgia Association of Historians as a venue to place in print the scholarship of the organizations members. In 1994, the name of the publication changed to the Journal of the Georgia Association of Historians, which is currently a peer-reviewed scholarly journal published annually.