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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

May 27, 2023
1862 Virginia Peninsula Campaign

Virginia Center for Civil War Studies director Paul Quigley talked about the soldier experience during the 1862…
May 20, 2023
Lincoln's Journey to Washington

Historian Ted Widmer traced Abraham Lincoln’s trip to Washington through a divided country before his first…
May 13, 2023
John Breckinridge's Escape to Cuba

Historian William “Jack” Davis talked about former Vice President and later Confederate General John Breckinridge’s…

May 6, 2023
Civil War Journeys, Geography, and Photography

Historian Garry Adelman used stories and Civil War photography to talk about the ways people experienced the war…
April 15, 2023
Southern Unionism During the Civil War

In the 1860s, not everyone in the South supported the Confederacy. Authors Brian Neumann and Clayton Butler talked…
April 8, 2023
Civil War by Other Means

University of Texas at Austin professor Jeremi Suri examined the white supremacist resistance in the years after the…