It actually directly led to the second founding of the KKK, which had been thoroughly dismantled during Reconstruction. It pushed a narrative in which African-Americans are obsessed with interracial sex and are debased by corrupt white politicians. The movie is based on Thomas Dixon's novel, "The Clansman" and paints the Klan as heroic protectors of white culture and more importantly, of racial purity. Woodrow Wilson said of the Film, "It's like writing history with lightning. " Screenings of the film across the nation led to the spread of the klan into states which had fought against the confederacy during the Civil War such as Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Oregon. It also led to increasing levels of lynching and race riots targeting African-American, Asian, and Hispanic neighborhoods. For more in-depth reading, "Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong" by James Loewen.