The Organization of American Historians

Join the Organization of American Historians in considering the Civil War through the insights of outstanding American historians.

Throughout the 150th anniversary of this conflict, the OAH will explore these themes online, in print, and in person:


The Civil War at 150

Clement Vallandigham. Courtesy: Library of Congress Read more >

Featured Resources

Lectures and Conversations

To hear leading historians discussing Civil War history and remembrance, check out audio and video recordings of selected OAH Distinguished Lectures as well as audio podcast conversations.

From the OAH Archives

Selected articles on the Civil War from the OAH Magazine of History, the Journal of American History, and its predecessor, the Mississippi Valley Historical Review, offer a window onto evolving perceptions of the war and highlight how the OAH has long provided a forum for some of the most important Civil War scholarship.

Guest Speakers

The OAH Distinguished Lectureship Program offers nearly 100 historians who study and speak on the Civil War and Reconstruction eras.

Award-winning Books

Since 1985, the Avery O. Craven Award has been presented annually by the OAH for the most original book on the coming of the Civil War, the Civil War years, and Reconstruction, with the exception of works of purely military history. (The exception recognizes and reflects Craven’s Quaker convictions.) Avery O. Craven was president of the OAH, 1963-1964.

Journal of American History

“What Twenty-First-Century Historians Have Said about the Causes of Disunion”

The September 2012 issue of the Journal of American History includes an article by Michael E. Woods that analyzes the extensive literature on causes of the war that has been published since 2000 and articulates several trends found there with regard to sectionalism, southern proslavery American nationalism, and class conflict.

OAH Magazine of History

Civil War at 150: Mobilizing for War (April 2012)

The April 2012 issue of the OAH Magazine of History focuses on how the Union and the Confederacy mobilized resources to fight the Civil War.

Read other recent Civil War history articles in the OAH Magazine of History and the Journal of American History.