The Leopard's Spots

Thomas F. Dixon, Jr. (1864-1946) was an American Baptist minister, playwright, lecturer, North Carolina state legislator, lawyer, and author, perhaps best known for writing The Clansman (1905), which was to become the inspiration for D. W. Griffith's film, The Birth of a Nation (1915). Although currently his life and works are discredited by his racism, he was among the most popular speakers and writers of his day. His brother, the popular preacher Amzi Clarence Dixon, was also famous for helping to edit The Fundamentals, a series of articles influential in fundamentalist Christianity. He was the author of 22 novels; additionally, he wrote many plays, sermons, and works of nonfiction. Most of his work centered around three major themes constant throughout his writings: the need for racial purity, the evils of socialism, and the necessity of a stable family with a traditional role for the wife/mother. His other works include The Southerner: A Romance of the Real Lincoln (1913), The Victim: A Romance of the Real Jefferson Davis (1914), The Foolish Virgin (1915), The Way of a Man (1918) and The Man in Gray (1921).