Two brothers visit their friends in Piedmont, South Carolina:Camersons. This friendship is affected by the Civil War, as the Stonemans and the Camerons must join up opposite armies. The consequences of the War in their lives are shown in connection to major historical events, like the development of the Civil War itself, Lincoln's assassination, and the birth of the Ku Klux Klan.

In this film, African Americans are portrayed as being inherently dumb and savage as well as being white women chasers. Also, the Ku Klux Klan are depicted as heroes in the movie. The movie is one of the most grevious cases of fiction over truth and also reveals President Wilson, besides championing the League of Nations and democracy abroad, as a first-class racist. One of his first acts as president was to segregate the federal government.