The American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP) was initially created by the Secretary of the Interior in 1991. In 1996 Congress signed into law the American Battlefield Protection Act, which officially authorized the ABPP.

Over the past two decades Congress has enacted legislation reauthorizing the ABPP, directing the ABPP to undertake battlefield studies, and authorizing the ABPP to administer Civil War land acquisition grants. In addition, the ABPP worked with its partners in the preservation of historically significant Civil War battlefields through a commemorative coin bill.