Birth of a Nation

• When was Birth of a Nation released?

  1915
• How were black Americans portrayed in the film?

  Violent and unintelligent
• How were the KKK portrayed in the film?

  As heroic and the protectors of the country
• What aspects of white supremacy were included?

  The psychosexual pre-occupation of black sexuality and fear of mixing the races
• How was black political life represented?

  Portrayed as a threat to democracy, with their laws bent to their lusts
• What is an example of a law which black Americans were said to pass if in power?

  Laws legalising inter-racial marriages
• Who is the white war hero in the film?

  Ben Cameron
• Who played black characters in the film?

  White actors in blackface
• What does Cameron do in the film?

  Sets up the KKK who attack black Americans
• What attacks do the KKK carry out?

  They lynch black soldiers and restore Southern white control in the South
• What happens in the film once white control is restored?

  Christ appears in the sky to show his approval
• Which book was the film based on?

  Thomas Dixon's, 'The Clansmen' (1905)
• How are Republican legislators shown in the film?

  Lazy and stupid
• What happens to Cameron's younger sister?

  A black soldiers tries to rape her
• What do armed black men do?

  Try to stop white men from voting
• How much did the film make in NY City alone?

  1 million made in 1915
• Who had a private screening of the film?

  The President, Woodrow Wilson, had a private screening at the White House
• What was the film blamed for?

  Du Bois and NAACP blamed it for an upsurge in lynchings and called for a boycott
• What did black Americans do to stop the film?

  Black riots stopped screenings in several cities
• What is an example of a black riot against the film?

  1000 black Philadelphians tried to force their way into a premiere, but were stopped by police
• What did the film lead to?

  A re-establishment of the KKK, so clearly shaped attitudes of white Americans
• What did Booker T. Washington say about the film?


  Criticised massive black demonstrations against the movie and claimed that they gave it free publicity
• Who directed the film?

  D. Griffiths
• What did D. Griffiths say?

  He denied he was racist saying black people, 'were our children, whom we loved and cared for'
• What is an event which can be linked to the release of the film?

  The March on Washington
• When was the March on Washington?

  August 8th 1925
• How many KKK members were at the March?

  More than 30,000
• Where in Washington was the march?

  Pennsylvania Avenue
• How many members did the KKK have by mid 1920s?

  4 million members
• Who did the KKK oppose in the 1920s?

  Catholics, Jews, immigrants and black people
• Which state had the most KKK members?

  Michigan had more members than any other state
• Who re-established the KKK?

  William Simmons re-established the KKK in Georgia
• When was the KKK relaunched?

  1915
• How many members did the KKK have in 1915?

  100,000
• When did the Klan collapse again?

  During the 1930s
• Why did the Klan collapse in the 1930s?

  Not due to a fall of the ideas but due to a $10 membership fee during the depression