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Summary: The Birth Of A Nation

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The Birth of a Nation, by D.W. Griffith, in my belief, is a prime example of why the present world is so ignorant of the past. Because the techniques in the movie were so exceptional at the time, this misinterpretation of the reconstruction period was widespread. When the movie came out, I believe many people were not well enough informed to distinguish between the truth and the distorted. Due to stereotypes and misleading information, it could have been simple to portray African-Americans as distasteful, ill-mannered beings and, contrarily, the Ku Klux Klan as gallant protectors, resulting in the audience misconceiving the truth. As I watched The Birth of a Nation, I was able to compare the misconstrued idea of Reconstruction to what I read in chapter fifteen of our textbook, by Eric Foner. As said in the short essay by Craig D’ooge about The Birth of a Nation, found in the Library of Congress, “Griffith depicted a tide of corrupt black rule in Southern legislatures after the civil war.” This depiction, created by the producer, is by all means false and it …show more content…

I believe more people get their history from Hollywood films than from a history book, because for most is easier to understand events when they are shown visually and it is more appealing to watch films about history than to read history books for most, even though many films are inaccurate. I do not believe The Birth of a Nation should have been shown in the twentieth century, when segregation was still at large and the impact of stereotypes against African Americans were still so influential. However, I do believe The Birth of a Nation should be shown to the public today and to classes who are learning about history, because it shows how films can depict an entirely false view of historical events and that people should not just believe what they

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In the book Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome written by Dr.Joy DeGruy she explains how the past events in American history has lead to post traumatic slave syndrome. She explains that the way African Americans were treated during the slave era and after has had an everlasting effect on African Americans. The book goes on to describe how America has been denying its past and has not helped to integrated and level all the playing fields for African Americans. The book brings to light how we can try to contribute in making America a fair and equal place for all as most claim it to be. Through the book DeGruy talks about the four major contributing factors for the reason why America is the way it is.

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Although reconstruction brought essential changes for African American slaves it ultimately failed its purpose of unifying the nation. However, in order to comprehend why reconstruction failed it is important to understand the two phases it underwent. In addition, it is also crucial to look at the different plans that were propose in order to reunify the nation and if they were successful or not. First, phase one the presidential reconstruction was very complex due to the fact that it was carried out by two very divergent presidents and lacked unification. On one hand we had Abraham Lincoln 's plan which consisted of reconstructing and unifying the nation again.

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