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.
At a glance
Countries
United States of America
Ratings
TMDB users
6.0/10
593 votes
IMDb
6.1/10
Users
Critics
91%Rotten Tomatoes
Rating consensus
71/100 blend
Sources: TMDB · IMDb · Rotten Tomatoes
Moderate-to-positive blended read — weighted ~71/100 across 3 rating sources. Expect some divergence between critics and crowds.
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
Robert Harron
Tod
Wallace Reid
Jeff, the Blacksmith
Joseph Henabery
Abraham Lincoln
Elmer Clifton
Stoneman's Elder Son Phil
In “The Life of a Nation Collection”
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Community Ledger
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The Birth of a Nation (1915)
D.W. Griffith
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