D.W. Griffith's Birth of a Nation: The Romance of

Redemption

HIST 1302: US History Survey, 1877-The Present

Week 6

Prof. Dobe's Introduction

The Birth Of A Nation 1/20 (1915)

To the Film Footage …

Relationships Between Northerners and Southerners

What was the visit of the Stoneman brothers to the Piedmont like?

The Birth Of A Nation 2/20 (1915)

Slaves, Slavery and the Cause of the Civil War

How is the black woman portrayed at the start of the following clip?

What caused the war according to this film?

The Birth Of A Nation 3/20 (1915)

The Camerons and Stonemans During the War

In the following clip, what happens when the Black Soldiers reach the Camerons' home?  Who saves the Cameron women from these armed slaves?

How does the film demonstrate the equality of the Northern and Southern sacrifice in the war?

The Birth Of A Nation 5/20 (1915)

The Birth Of A Nation 6/20 (1915)

Ben Cameron and Elsie Stoneman

How to Ben Cameron and Elsie Stoneman finally meet?

The Birth Of A Nation 7/20 (1915)

Ben Cameron Narrowly Escapes an Execution

How does Ben Cameron avoid being hanged as a guerrilla fighter?

The Birth Of A Nation 8/20 (1915)

The Birth Of A Nation 9/20 (1915)

Assassination of Lincoln and Start of Reconstruction

How does the film portray Congressional Reconstruction? How does the film explain the birth of the Ku Klux Klan?

What role does the "Carpetbagger" Stoneman play?   

The Birth Of A Nation 10/20 (1915)

The Birth Of A Nation 11/20 (1915)

The Stoneman-Cameron Romance Continues Against Backdrop of Black Votes

How do the former slaves handle their enfranchisement during Reconstruction?

What role does the romance between the sons and daughters of the Camerons and the Stonemans play?  Does the romantic sub-plot have a point?

The Birth Of A Nation 12/20 (1915)

Black Rule in South Carolina

How do the former slaves behave when in power?  What kinds of legislation do they pass?

What role do the Carpetbaggers play?

The Birth Of A Nation 13/20 (1915)

Origin of the Ku Klux Klan

Where does Col. Cameron get the idea for the white sheets?

How does the rift between Col. Cameron and his (Northern) lover over Klan membership reflect the national drama of the period?

The Birth Of A Nation 14/20 (1915)

White Womanhood Threatened, Murder and Mayhem Follow

How does the movie make an argument about the folly of legislation that forces respect for black officers and allows for interracial marriage?

The Birth Of A Nation 15/20 (1915)

Lynching Gus

Why do the Klan members deposit the body of the lynched Gus at the door of the Lieutenant Governor?

The Birth Of A Nation 16/20 (1915)

The Arrest of Dr. Cameron

When Klan robes are found in the Cameron house by a spy for the "carpetbagger" government, who comes to Dr. Cameron's aide after his arrest?   How is he freed and where do his liberators seek refuge?

The Birth Of A Nation 17/20 (1915)

White Womanhood Under Threat (Again) from Mulatto Carpetbagger

What does Silas Lynch attempt to do in the following clip?

The Birth Of A Nation 18/20 (1915)

The Klan to the Rescue ...

How does the film attempt to get the audience to sympathize with the Ku Klux Klan?

The Birth Of A Nation 19/20 (1915)

Rescue of the Captives, Disarming the Blacks and Two Honeymoons

What were the results of Klan rule?

The Birth Of A Nation 20/20 (1915)