History | The Civil War Institute

The Civil War is the single most significant event in all of U.S. history, and Americans continue to struggle to come to terms with the Civil War's relationship to American politics, nationhood, and race relations. Well over 65,000 books have been written on the subject and new ones appear every year. There are Civil War Societies throughout the world. Battlefield reenactments draw participants from many countries as far away as Germany and Japan. The venerable statesman Sir Winston Churchill wrote, "The American Civil War has given me my only two heroes: Abraham Lincoln and Robert E. Lee." From 1861 through 1865, the Potomac River divided the United Stated into two nations at war, making Virginia and the Washington, D.C., area the center of the storm that ravaged and remade the nation.

The Civil War  institute combines morning lectures with afternoon thematic study tours to important historical sites in the D.C. area, providing students with a sense of history as it was lived.  Institute Co-Directors Alan Kraut, professor, Department of History, and Ed Smith, professor of anthropology and Director of American Studies, in the College of Arts and Sciences at American University, will lecture, lead discussions, and guide thematic tours of local sites. 

Program of Activities

Lectures will begin each morning on the campus of American University at 9:00 a.m., following breakfast. At noon, the class will break for lunch (box lunches are provided), after which students will be transported by air-conditioned bus to the day's site. Students will return to campus each day by approximately 6:00 p.m.

Costs and Course Information

2009 Costs: Students may earn three undergraduate credits or graduate credits upon successful completion of course work. The cost of tuition is $3279 for undergraduate credit and $3279 for graduate credit. A special fee of $325 will be charged in addition to tuition. The special fee covers opening and closing banquets, five breakfasts, five box lunches, entrance fees, and bus transportation to all sites. A non-credit option is also available. To register for this course, please click on the Registrar's web page at: http://www.american.edu/american/registrar/

For further information or to sign up, contact: