The Birth of a Nation
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.
Lillian Gish
Stoneman's Daughter Elsie
Mae Marsh
Flora Cameron
Henry B. Walthall
Col. Ben Cameron
Miriam Cooper
Margaret Cameron
Mary Alden
Stoneman's Housekeeper Lydia
Ralph Lewis
Leader of the House Hon. Austin Stoneman
George Siegmann
Lieut. Governor Silas Lynch
Walter Long
Gus
Robert Harron
Tod
Wallace Reid
Jeff, the Blacksmith
Joseph Henabery
Abraham Lincoln
Elmer Clifton
Stoneman's Elder Son Phil
Josephine Crowell
Mrs. Cameron
Spottiswoode Aitken
Dr. Cameron
George Beranger
Wade Cameron
Maxfield Stanley
Duke Cameron
Jennie Lee
Mammy
Donald Crisp
Gen. U.S. Grant
Howard Gaye
Gen. Robert E. Lee
Sam De Grasse
Senator Charles Sumner (uncredited)
William De Vaull
Nelse (uncredited)
Willam Freeman
Jake / Sentry at Hospital (uncredited)
Tom Wilson
Stoneman's Servant (uncredited)
Fred Burns
Klansman (uncredited)
Allan Sears
Klansman (uncredited)
Elmo Lincoln
Blacksmith (uncredited)
Madame Sul-Te-Wan
Black Woman (uncredited)
Raoul Walsh
John Wilkes Booth (uncredited)
Monte Blue
(uncredited)
Harry Braham
Cameron's Male Servant (uncredited)
Bob Burns
Klan Leader (uncredited)
Edmund Burns
Klansman (uncredited)
Edward Burns
Klansman (uncredited)
Peggy Cartwright
Young Girl in Cabin (uncredited)
Dark Cloud
General (uncredited)
Leonore Cooper
Elsie's Maid (uncredited)
Charles Eagle Eye
Man Who Falls from Roof (uncredited)
John Ford
Klansman (uncredited)
Olga Grey
Laura Keene (uncredited)
Alberta Lee
Mrs. Lincoln (uncredited)
Betty Marsh
Child with Dr. Cameron (uncredited)
Donna Montran
Belle of 1861 (uncredited)
Eugene Pallette
Union Soldier (uncredited)
Alma Rubens
Belle of 1861 (uncredited)
Charles Stevens
Volunteer (uncredited)
Jules White
Confederate Soldier (uncredited)
Violet Wilkey
Young Flora Cameron (uncredited)
David Butler
Northern Soldier / Confederate Soldier (uncredited)
Mary Wynn
Frank E. Woods
Screenplay
H.E. Aitken
Executive Producer
Joseph Carl Breil
Director of Photography
Jon Mirsalis
Original Music Composer
Billy Bitzer
Director of Photography
Joseph Henabery
Editor
James Smith
Editor
Rose Smith
Editor
Raoul Walsh
Editor
Robert Goldstein
Costume Design
Clare West
Costume Design
Walter Hoffman
Special Effects
D.W. Griffith
Writer
D.W. Griffith
Producer
D.W. Griffith
Original Music Composer
D.W. Griffith
Editor
Thomas F. Dixon Jr.
Novel
Thomas F. Dixon Jr.
Adaptation
Joseph Carl Breil
Music
Monte Blue
Assistant Director
Christy Cabanne
Assistant Director
Elmer Clifton
Assistant Director
Jack Conway
Assistant Director
Donald Crisp
Assistant Director
Allan Dwan
Assistant Director
Howard Gaye
Assistant Director
Fred Hamer
Assistant Director
Robert Harron
Assistant Director
Joseph Henabery
Assistant Director
Thomas E. O'Brien
Assistant Director
Herbert Sutch
Assistant Director
W.S. Van Dyke
Assistant Director
Erich von Stroheim
Assistant Director
Baron von Winther
Assistant Director
Raoul Walsh
Assistant Director
Henry B. Walthall
Assistant Director
Tom Wilson
Assistant Director
Ralph M. DeLacy
Property Master
Shorty English
Carpenter
Cash Shockey
Painter
Frank Wortman
Set Designer
Hal Sullivan
Assistant Property Master
Walter Hoffman
Special Effects Supervisor
Fireworks Wilson
Special Effects
Monte Blue
Stunts
Charles Eagle Eye
Stunts
Leo Nomis
Stunts
Karl Brown
Camera Operator
Karl Malkames
Negative Cutter
Carli Elinor
Conductor
Joseph Nurnberger
Music
D.W. Griffith
Presenter
Jim Kidd
Security
D.W. Griffith
Director