Advanced Search

Print page

Current Criteria

Coverage People : D. W. Griffith

Refine your search

Refine your search by adding another term. Type 'all' to view all options for the category.

Eras and Sub-Eras:

Grade Level:

Theme:

Keywords:

Coverage People:

Coverage Organizations:

Did not find what you were looking for?
return to the basic search, search for multimedia, or search the collection

Showing results 1 – 3 of 3

Glossary Term – Event

The Birth of a Nation

President Woodrow Wilson attended a White House screening of D. W. Griffith’s new film, The Birth of a Nation. The film, based on the novel The Clansman by Thomas Dixon, celebrated the Ku Klux Klan and presented racist portrayals of African Americans. Wilson reportedly called the film “terribly true.” Fervor created by the film contributed to race riots and violence against African Americans throughout the nation, as well as the revival of the Ku Klux Klan.

Primary Source

Birth of a Nation, 1915

This “Advice Sheet” flyer was distributed with D. W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation to theaters when the...

Teaching Resource

American Slavery and Abolition through Hollywood

Throughout the twentieth century, many influential Hollywood films, from Birth of a Nation and Gone with the Wind to Glory to Amistad, have helped shape the way Americans have thought about slavery and its legacy.

Birth of a Nation (1915)

Birth of a Nation was the most popular film of the silent era. Its innovative techniques made it the most important silent film ever produced. But the film also provided historical...