by Thomas Dixon

Beginning with Lee's surrender and the subsequent assassination of Abraham Lincoln, The Clansman describes the anxiety and confusion of the years immediately after the South's defeat. Between 1865 and 1870, the whole nation struggled with questions of justice and revenge, forgiveness and reparation. With 350,000 Southern soldiers dead, ensuring the welfare of their widows and orphans, as well as the rest of the population, was of paramount concern to the survivors.

Faced with a total breakdown of law and order, some Southern leaders called upon the spirits of their ancestors, the clansmen of Old Scotland. The Ku Klux Klan was conceived as an 'Invisible Empire' pledged to protect the people of the South. This novel tells its story.