The main theme is miscegenation , or in Dixon 's words , it was a " study of race mixing " . A second theme is the white male 's sexual desire for the black woman . A consubstantial theme is " the need for complete racial separation . " The novel portrays the Wilmington insurrection of 1898
Wilmington insurrection of 1898
Wilmington insurrection of 1898
The Sins of the Father: A Romance of the South