The Birth of a Nation

The Birth of a Nation
02/08/1915 AD released

The Birth of a Nation opened to an audience of 3,000 persons at Clune's Auditorium in downtown LA. and becamea huge commercial success across the nation—grossing more than any previous motion picture—and it profoundly influenced both the film industry and American culture.

Popular among white audiences nationwide, the film’s success was both a consequence of and a contributor to racial segregation throughout the U.S. In response to the film's depictions of black people and Civil War history, African Americans across the U.S. organized and protested. In Boston and other localities, black leaders and the NAACP spearheaded an unsuccessful campaign to have it banned on the basis that it inflamed racial tensions and could incite violence.

The film was controversial even before its release, and it has remained so ever since; it has been called "the most controversial film ever made in the United States"  and "the most reprehensibly racist film in Hollywood history". Lincoln is nevertheless portrayed positively, albeit a friend of the South.

The film has been denounced for its racist depiction of African Americans. The film portrays blacks (many of whom are played by white actors in blackface) as unintelligent and sexually aggressive toward white women.

Griffith's indignation at efforts to censor or ban the film motivated him to produce Intolerance the following year.

An earlier version, then called The Clansman, was showed on January 1 and 2, 1915, at the Loring Opera House in Riverside, CA. On it's second night, it was sold out and people were turned away.

Los Angeles, CA

Lattitude: 34.05° N
Longitude: 118.25° W
Region: North America

Modern Day United States

Events in 1915 MORE