The Birth of a Nation

The Birth of a Nation is a 1915 silent drama movie. It is a white supremacist film.  

It was directed by D. W. Griffith and stars Lillian Gish. It was based on the book The Clansman by Thomas Dixon, Jr.

 The movie 
The movie is about two families during the American Civil War and the Reconstruction era. The Northern Stoneman family is pro-Union. The Southern Cameron family is pro-Confederacy. The assassination of President Abraham Lincoln by John Wilkes Booth is dramatized. 

 Popular success 
The movie was a great success. It is a landmark of film history. It was very controversial though. It showed African-American men (played by European-Americans actors in blackface) as stupid and sexually aggressive towards European-Americans women. It also showed the Ku Klux Klan as a heroic force.

 Impact 
As a result, there were protests.Mass Moments: “The Birth of a Nation” Sparks Protest The movie was banned in several cities. The outcry of racism was great. Screenings were often followed by riots and attacks.

The movie is also credited in part with the formation of the "second era" Ku Klux Klan the same year. The Birth of a Nation was used as a recruiting tool for the KKK.A Birth of a Nation essays  In 1915, it was the first movie to be shown at the White House, by Democrat Woodrow Wilson.Perks in the White HouseVariety: The Ultimate Screening: ’42′ Gets a White House Endorsement

 References 

Category:1915 drama movies
Category:Epic movies
Category:1910s historical movies
Category:American silent movies
Category:American drama movies
Category:American historical movies
Category:Movies about racism
Category:Movies about slavery
Category:Movies about the Ku Klux Klan
Category:Movies based on books
Category:Movies directed by D. W. Griffith
Category:Movies set in the 1860s
Category:Movies set in the 1870s
Category:Movies set in South Carolina
Category:Controversies
Category:United States National Film Registry movies