The Clansman
Encyclopedia
The Clansman: An Historical Romance of the Ku Klux Klan is the title of a novel published in 1905. It was the second work in the Ku Klux Klan
trilogy by Thomas F. Dixon, Jr.
that included The Leopard's Spots
and The Traitor. It was influential in providing the ideology that helped support the revival of the Ku Klux Klan
(KKK). The novel was immediately adapted by its author as a play entitled The Clansman (1905) and by D. W. Griffith
as the groundbreaking 1915 silent movie The Birth of a Nation
.
The play particularly inspired the second half of The Birth of a Nation, as it was concerned with the KKK and Reconstruction rather than the American Civil War
. According to Professor Russell Merritt, key differences between the play and film are said to include that Dixon was more sympathetic to Southerners' pursuing education and modern professions, whereas Griffith stressed ownership of plantations; moreover, Dixon envisioned the KKK as more organized and structured than it was.
Dixon wrote The Clansman as a message to Northerners to maintain racial segregation
, as the work claimed that blacks when free turned savage.
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
trilogy by Thomas F. Dixon, Jr.
Thomas Dixon, Jr.
Thomas F. Dixon, Jr. was an American Baptist minister, playwright, lecturer, North Carolina state legislator, lawyer, and author, perhaps best known for writing The Clansman — which was to become the inspiration for D. W...
that included The Leopard's Spots
The Leopard's Spots
The Leopard's Spots is the first novel of Thomas Dixon's Ku Klux Klan trilogy that included The Clansman and The Traitor. In the novel Dixon offers an account of Reconstruction in which he portrays the villains as a former slave driver, Northern carpetbaggers and emancipated slaves; and heroes as...
and The Traitor. It was influential in providing the ideology that helped support the revival of the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
(KKK). The novel was immediately adapted by its author as a play entitled The Clansman (1905) and by D. W. Griffith
D. W. Griffith
David Llewelyn Wark Griffith was a premier pioneering American film director. He is best known as the director of the controversial and groundbreaking 1915 film The Birth of a Nation and the subsequent film Intolerance .Griffith's film The Birth of a Nation made pioneering use of advanced camera...
as the groundbreaking 1915 silent movie The Birth of a Nation
The Birth of a Nation
The Birth of a Nation is a 1915 American silent film directed by D. W. Griffith and based on the novel and play The Clansman, both by Thomas Dixon, Jr. Griffith also co-wrote the screenplay , and co-produced the film . It was released on February 8, 1915...
.
The play particularly inspired the second half of The Birth of a Nation, as it was concerned with the KKK and Reconstruction rather than the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. According to Professor Russell Merritt, key differences between the play and film are said to include that Dixon was more sympathetic to Southerners' pursuing education and modern professions, whereas Griffith stressed ownership of plantations; moreover, Dixon envisioned the KKK as more organized and structured than it was.
Dixon wrote The Clansman as a message to Northerners to maintain racial segregation
Racial segregation
Racial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...
, as the work claimed that blacks when free turned savage.
Characters
- Austin Stoneman - Northern political leader who advocates and implements Reconstruction in the conquered Southern statesSouthern StatesSouthern States may refer to:*Southern United States*Southern States Cooperative*The independent states of the South in the North-South divide*The independent states of the Southern hemisphere...
. Introduces bill to impeach President Andrew Johnson. - Elsie Stoneman - daughter of the above. Defies father's wishes by falling in love with young Southern rebel Ben Cameron.
- Phil Stoneman - son and brother of the above. Falls in love with Southerner Margaret Cameron.
- Lydia Brown - Austin Stoneman's mulattoMulattoMulatto denotes a person with one white parent and one black parent, or more broadly, a person of mixed black and white ancestry. Contemporary usage of the term varies greatly, and the broader sense of the term makes its application rather subjective, as not all people of mixed white and black...
housekeeper - Silas Lynch - mulatto assistant to Austin Stoneman. Aids him in imposing Reconstruction on the recalcitrant Southerners.
- Marion Lenoir - fifteen year old white girl who was Ben Cameron's childhood sweetheart. Raped by Gus and commits suicide by jumping off a cliff.
- Jeannie Lenoir - mother of the above. Joins her daughter in fatal cliff leap.
- Gus - a former slave of the Camerons. Rapes Marion and is then abducted and executed by the Ku Klux Klan, under the supervision of the "Grand Dragon" Ben Cameron.
- Dr Richard Cameron - a Southern doctor, falsely charged with complicity in the murder of President Lincoln.
- Mrs Cameron - wife of Dr Richard Cameron.
- Ben Cameron - son of the above and the "hero" of the novel. Falls in love with Northerner Elsie Stoneman. Fought for the South in the Civil War and later joins the Ku Klux Klan in order to restore white supremacyWhite supremacyWhite supremacy is the belief, and promotion of the belief, that white people are superior to people of other racial backgrounds. The term is sometimes used specifically to describe a political ideology that advocates the social and political dominance by whites.White supremacy, as with racial...
. - Margaret Cameron - sister of the above.
- Mammy
- Jake
- President Abraham LincolnAbraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
- President Andrew JohnsonAndrew JohnsonAndrew Johnson was the 17th President of the United States . As Vice-President of the United States in 1865, he succeeded Abraham Lincoln following the latter's assassination. Johnson then presided over the initial and contentious Reconstruction era of the United States following the American...
- Lincoln's successor. Impeached in Congress for opposing Reconstruction.