A look at the people and events that shaped the Civil War and Reconstruction.

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 The Civil War Videos

March 18, 2023
General Ulysses Grant's Leadership

Military historian Harry Laver explored Ulysses Grant’s early missteps and maturation as a commander in the Civil War.…
March 11, 2023
No Place for a Woman: Harriet Dame's Civil War

Author Mike Pride discussed Harriet Dame, a matron who served as a nurse at the front of the Union Army for the…
July 16, 2022
Buying and Selling the Civil War

Editors of “Buying and Selling Civil War Memory in Gilded Age America” explored the ways advertisers and others used Civil…

March 4, 2023
Bonds of War

Author David Thomson blended Civil War-era financial and political history to show how the marketing and sale of bonds helped…
February 25, 2023
2022 Lincoln Forum - Rep. Benjamin Butler and Reconstruction

Historian Elizabeth Leonard discussed Benjamin Butler, who served as a congressman and chair for the House Committee on…
February 25, 2023
2022 Lincoln Forum - White Supremacy and Lincoln Assassination

Author John Rhodehamel argued that John Wilkes Booth’s primary motivation for assassinating Lincoln was white supremacy,…