The Birth of a Nation
Two families, abolitionist Northerners the Stonemans and Southern landowners the Camerons, intertwine. When Confederate colonel Ben Cameron is captured in battle, nurse Elsie Stoneman petitions for his pardon. In Reconstruction-era South Carolina, Cameron founds the Ku Klux Klan, battling Elsie's congressman father and his African-American protégé, Silas Lynch.
Critics Sentiment
Civil War combat with innovative cinematography techniques
KKK hunts down, tries, and lynches Gus
The film plummets from Lincoln's assassination (8.5) to the rigged election sequence (3.0) as it transitions from Civil War drama to racist propaganda.
The Birth of a Nation divides sharply into two distinct halves that reviewers responded to very differently. The first half, covering the Civil War period, earned widespread critical praise for its technical innovations, battle sequences, and dramatic storytelling, with many considering it groundbreaking cinema. However, the second half's racist portrayal of Reconstruction and heroic depiction of the KKK drew universal condemnation from critics, who found the propaganda offensive and historically inaccurate despite acknowledging the continued technical competence.
Full cast
Showing 20 of 49
Lillian Gish
Stoneman's Daughter Elsie
Mae Marsh
Flora Cameron
Henry B. Walthall
Col. Ben Cameron
Miriam Cooper
Margaret Cameron
Mary Alden
Stoneman's Housekeeper Lydia
Ralph Lewis
Leader of the House Hon. Austin Stoneman
George Siegmann
Lieut. Governor Silas Lynch
Walter Long
Gus
Robert Harron
Tod
Wallace Reid
Jeff, the Blacksmith
Joseph Henabery
Abraham Lincoln
Elmer Clifton
Stoneman's Elder Son Phil
Josephine Crowell
Mrs. Cameron
Spottiswoode Aitken
Dr. Cameron
George Beranger
Wade Cameron
Maxfield Stanley
Duke Cameron
Jennie Lee
Mammy
Donald Crisp
Gen. U.S. Grant
Howard Gaye
Gen. Robert E. Lee
Sam De Grasse
Senator Charles Sumner (uncredited)
Crew
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