Journey through the 20th century with archival films on public affairs.

Covering American History C-SPAN style: with event coverage, eyewitness accounts, and discussions with authors, historians and teachers. Every weekend from 8am ET Saturday to 8am ET Monday on C-SPAN3.

In January, 2011, C-SPAN expanded its programming offerings with a new history-based service airing weekends on C-SPAN3. American History TV (AHTV) features programming geared toward history lovers with 48 hours every weekend of people and events that document the American story.

C-SPAN began C-SPAN3 operations in January 2001 as a digital service. C-SPAN3 is currently available in 49 million digital cable TV households and is streamed live online at C-SPAN.org.

At the time of the launch of American History TV, C-SPAN co-president Susan Swain said: "We’re hoping American History TV does for history enthusiasts what Book TV has done for non-fiction book lovers."

Most Recent Reel America Videos

August 14, 2021
U.S. Vice President Makes World Tour

Vice President Richard Nixon and his wife, Pat, traveled around the world in July of 1956 with stops in Hawaii, the…
November 28, 2019
Lyndon B. Johnson Becomes President, The Tragic Death of President Kennedy

This U.S. Information Agency short film describes the death and funeral of President John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in Dallas on…
October 29, 2016
Mister American

This biographical film was produced by Dwight D. Eisenhower’s 1952 presidential campaign and features his…

December 1, 2018
George H. W. Bush's Farewell Visit to CIA

In the final days of his presidency, George H.W. Bush visited CIA headquarters in Northern Virginia to say farewell to…
September 23, 2017
Soviet Internal Propaganda

This CIA film from 1985 details what the agency argued was a vast system of indoctrination in the Soviet Union which…
July 1, 2017
Our Heritage

Our Heritage is a 1966 episode from the U.S. Army’s “Big Picture” series marking the July 4th holiday by telling the…