The Birth of a Nation

"The Fiery Cross of the Ku Klux Klan!"

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.

Director: D.W. Griffith

Cast

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