The Birth of a Nation

6.009

193 minutes

2/8/1915

Overview

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.

Cast List

Henry B. Walthall
as Col. Ben Cameron
Lillian Gish
as Stoneman's Daughter Elsie
Miriam Cooper
as Margaret Cameron
Mae Marsh
as Flora Cameron
Mary Alden
as Stoneman's Housekeeper Lydia
Ralph Lewis
as Leader of the House Hon. Austin Stoneman
George Siegmann
as Lieut. Governor Silas Lynch
Walter Long
as Gus
Joseph Henabery
as Abraham Lincoln
Wallace Reid
as Jeff, the Blacksmith
Elmer Clifton
as Stoneman's Elder Son Phil
Josephine Crowell
as Mrs. Cameron
Spottiswoode Aitken
as Dr. Cameron
George Beranger
as Wade Cameron
Maxfield Stanley
as Duke Cameron
Jennie Lee
as Mammy
Donald Crisp
as Gen. U.S. Grant
Howard Gaye
as Gen. Robert E. Lee
Sam De Grasse
as Charles Sumner
William De Vaull
as Nelse
Willam Freeman
as Jake / Sentry at Hospital
Tom Wilson
as Stoneman's Servant
Fred Burns
as Klansman
Allan Sears
as Klansman
Elmo Lincoln
as Blacksmith
Madame Sul-Te-Wan
as Black Woman
Raoul Walsh
as John Wilkes Booth
Robert Harron
as Tod
Monte Blue
Harry Braham
as Cameron's Male Servant
Bob Burns
as Klan Leader
Edmund Burns
as Klansman
Edward Burns
as Klansman
Peggy Cartwright
as Young Girl in Cabin
Dark Cloud
as General
Leonore Cooper
as Elsie's Maid
Charles Eagle Eye
as Man Who Falls from Roof
John Ford
as Klansman
Olga Grey
as Laura Keene
Alberta Lee
as Mrs. Lincoln
Betty Marsh
as Child with Dr. Cameron
Donna Montran
as Belle of 1861
Eugene Pallette
as Union Soldier
Alma Rubens
as Belle of 1861
Charles Stevens
as Volunteer
Jules White
as Confederate Soldier
Violet Wilkey
as Young Flora Cameron
David Butler
as Northern Soldier / Confederate Soldier