Character Analysis
D.W. Griffith really wants us to love Dr. and Mrs. Cameron, the heads of the Cam' fam. To him, they represent the best of the old school Southern aristocracy. The only problem with this, however, is that they gained said aristocratic status by, you know, enslaving and subjugating people.
But to Griffith, the Camerons are depicted as an exemplary couple. They love their kids. They contribute heavily to the Confederate war effort, even when that means giving away most their wealth (which of course was earned from owning slaves). All in all, the Cameron parents are held up as the best that the Southern aristocracy has to offer.
The Camerons end up being targeted because of this status. Silas Lynch continually focuses his forces on the household, even having Dr. Cameron arrested at the end of the film. Dr. Cameron is eventually rescued thanks to the efforts of his Black servants and Phil Stoneman, a Union veteran, which implies that these folks from otherwise-maligned groups are the good ones because they prop up this aristocratic family.
Ugh.
One of the insanely complicated things about watching The Birth of a Nation is separating our modern perspective from the one that Griffith originally intended, and there are few places where this tension is more evident than with the Cameron parents.