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The controversy of the film revolves around its premise of a post- Civil War America where the Ku Klux Klan successfully redeems the South from "carpetbaggers" and "mulattos", perceived in the film as evil. Even at the time of the film's release, people vigorously protested the film. However, the success of the film made Griffith a wealthy man. Griffith was surprised by the harsh criticism and his next major project, Intolerance tried to address the issues raised. The film has been accused of reviving the modern version of the Ku Klux Klan, which, after having been practically non-existent since 1871, was revived on the year of this movie's release.

The Birth of a Nation is the highest grossing silent film in cinema history, taking in more than $10 million at the box office in 1915. It was the highest grossing film until the Walt Disney Company's 1937 movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.

The film has also been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.

Some of the film's cast members are:

• Sam De Grasse
• Lillian GishLillian Gish ( October 14, 1893 February 27, 1993), was an American actress. Born Lillian Diana de Guiche in Springfield, Ohio, she was the sister of actress Dorothy Gish. The Gish sisters' mother Mary began acting in order to support the family after her
• Mae Marsh
• Miriam Cooper
• Wallace ReidWallace Reid born April 15, 1891 in St. Louis, Missouri, United States died January 18, 1923 in Hollywood, California, was an actor in silent film referred to by Motion Picture Magazine as "the screen's most perfect lover". Born William Wallace Reid into
• Henry B. Walthall

External link

• The Birth of a Nation at the Internet Movie Database