Thomas Frederick Dixon Jr. (January 11, 1864 – April 3, 1946) was a Southern Baptist minister, playwright, lecturer, politician, lawyer, and author who wrote two early 20th-century novels, The Leopard's Spots: A Romance of the White Man's Burden – 1865–1900 (1902) and The Clansman (1905), that glorified the Ku Klux Klan's vigilantes, romanticized Southern white supremacy, and opposed the equal rights for blacks during the Reconstruction era.[1] Film director D. W. Griffith adapted The Clansman for the screen in The Birth of a Nation (1915), which stimulated the formation of the 20th-century version of the Klan. Dixon was born in Shelby, North Carolina, the son of Thomas Jeremiah Frederick Dixon II and Amanda Elvira McAfee. Dixon's father, Thomas J. F. Dixon Sr., was a slave-owner, landowner and Baptist minister of English and Scottish paternal descent and German maternal descent. His grandfather, Frederick Hambright (possible namesake for the fictional North Carolina town of Hambright in which The Leopard's Spots take place), was a German Palatine migrant who fought in both the local militia and in the North Carolina Line of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.[2] Dixon Sr. had inherited slaves and property through his first wife's father.[3] In his adolescence, Dixon helped out on the family farms, an experience that he hated, but he would later say that it helped him to relate to the plight of the working man.[4] Dixon grew up during Reconstruction after the Civil War. The government confiscation of farmland, coupled with what Dixon saw as the corruption of local politicians, the particular vengefulness of Union troops, and the general lawlessness embittered the young Dixon, who became staunchly opposed to reform.[5] Dixon claimed that one of his earliest memories was of a widow of a Confederate soldier who had served under Dixon's uncle, Col. Leroy McAfee, accusing a black man of the rape of her daughter and sought the family's help. Dixon's mother praised the Klan after it had hanged and shot the alleged rapist in the town square.[6][7] Dixon's father, Thomas Dixon Sr., and his uncle, Leroy McAfee, both joined the Klan early in the Reconstruction era with the aim of "bringing order" to the tumultuous times. McAfee eventually attained the rank of Chief of the Klan of the Piedmont area of North Carolina.[7] However, after witnessing the corruption and scandal involved in the Klan, both men would dissolve their affiliation with the group and attempt to disband it within their region.[8] In 1877, Dixon entered the Shelby Academy, where he earned a diploma in only two years. In September 1879 Dixon enrolled at Wake Forest University, where he studied history and political science. As a student, Dixon performed remarkably well. In 1883, after only four years, he earned a master's degree. His record at Wake Forest was outstanding, and he earned the distinction of achieving the highest student honors ever awarded at the university until then.[9] As a student there, he was a founding member of the chapter of Kappa Alpha Order fraternity.[10] After his graduation from Wake Forest, Dixon received a scholarship to attend the Johns Hopkins University political science program. There he met and befriended future President Woodrow Wilson.[11] On January 11, 1884, despite the objections of Wilson, Dixon left Johns Hopkins University to pursue journalism and a career on the stage.[citation needed] Dixon headed to New York City and enrolled in the Frobisher School of Drama to study drama. As an actor, Dixon's physical appearance became a problem. He was 6'3" but only 150 lb, making for a very lanky appearance. One producer remarked that because of his appearance, he would not succeed as an actor, but Dixon was complimented for his intelligence and attention to detail. The producer recommended Dixon to put his love for the stage into scriptwriting.[12] Despite the compliment, Dixon returned home to North Carolina in shame.[citation needed] Upon his return to Shelby, Dixon quickly realized that he was in the wrong place to begin to cultivate his playwriting skills. After his initial disappointment from his rejection, Dixon, with the encouragement of his father, enrolled in the Greensboro Law School in Greensboro, North Carolina. An excellent student, Dixon received his law degree in 1885.[13] It was during law school that Dixon's father convinced Thomas Jr. to enter politics. After graduation, Dixon ran for the local seat in the North Carolina General Assembly as a Democrat.[14] Despite being only 20 years of age and not even old enough to vote for himself, he won the election by a 2-1 margin, a victory that was attributed to his masterful oratory skills.[15] Dixon retired from politics in 1886 after only one term in the legislature. He said that he was disgusted by the corruption and the backdoor deals of the lawmakers, and he is quoted as referring to politicians as "the prostitutes of the masses."[16] However short, Dixon's political career gained him popularity throughout the South for his championing of Confederate veterans' rights.[17] Following his career in politics, Dixon practiced private law for a short time, but he would find little satisfaction as a lawyer and would soon leave the profession to become a minister. Less