Part 1: Civil War of United States
Phil, the elder son of the Stonemans (a Northern family), falls in love with Margaret Cameron (the daughter of a Southern family), during a visit … See more

1911 version
In 1911, the Kinemacolor Company of America produced a lost film in Kinemacolor titled The Clansman. It was filmed in the southern United States and directed by William F. Haddock. According to different sources, … See more

Theatrical run
The first public showing of the film, then called The Clansman, was on January 1 and 2, 1915, at the Loring Opera House in Riverside, California. The second night, it was sold out and people were turned away. It was shown … See more

Critical response
Released in 1915, The Birth of a Nation has been credited as groundbreaking among its contemporaries for its innovative application of the … See more

• Lillian Gish as Elsie Stoneman
• Mae Marsh as Flora Cameron, the pet sister
• Henry B. Walthall as Colonel Benjamin Cameron ("The Little … See more

KKK support
Studies have linked the film to greater support for the KKK. Glorifying the Klan to approving white audiences, the film became a national … See more

Critical response
The New York Times gave the film a quite brief review, calling it "melodramatic" and "inflammatory", adding that: "A great deal might be said concerning the spirit revealed in Mr. Dixon's review of the unhappy chapter of … See more