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The Birth of a Nation Scene 5 Summary

  • We now find ourselves in the Stoneman library as Austin Stoneman meets Charles Sumner, leader of the senate.
  • Stoneman noticeably readjusts his wig as he goes into a tirade. We think that the filmmakers want us to dislike this guy.
  • Stoneman has a mixed-race housekeeper named Lydia Brown who's depicted as dainty and absent-minded. She spits at Sumner and, when he leaves, collapses to the ground.
  • Stoneman enters to room and finds Lydia looking disheveled and teary-eyed. She seems to be implying that Sumner did something uncouth to her.