History Of Nelson Mandela

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Rolihlahla Mandela aka Nelson Mandela was named Nelson by his primary school teacher so he could have a “christian” name. He was born on July 18, 1918 into the madiba clan in Mvezo, Transkei. His father died when he was 12 years old. He went to the University of Fort Hare to study for his Bachelor of Arts Degree, but couldn’t complete it since he was expelled for participating in a student protest. (Nelson Mandela Foundation). In Johannesburg he studied law at the University of Witwatersrand to earn his Bachelor’s Degree, while he was doing this he was also working as a law clerk. This is where he became more involved for the anti-apartheid movement. (Nelson Mandela). Nelson joined the African National Congress in 1943, from then and on he …show more content…

Racial segregation and white supremacy was a large aspect of South African policies way before apartheid began. The 1913 Land Act forced black africans to live in reserves and made it illegal for them to work as sharecroppers. People who opposed this act formed the South African National Native Congress which later became the African National Congress. (Apartheid). Apartheids meaning is “apartness” in Afrikaans. This ideology was introduced to South Africa in 1948 by the Afrikaner National Party. Apartheid forced different races to live and develop separately and were treated unequally. Mixed races were not allowed to get married. This wasn’t any different from segregation other than the fact that it made segregation a law not a policy. One of the main reasons for what caused apartheid was that the white people in South Africa were fearful because they were in the minority and were afraid they’d lose jobs, culture and language. Some laws that became laws for apartheid include Population Registration Act, 1950, Group Areas Act, 1950, Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act, 1959, Separate Representation of Voters Act, 1951. (A history of Apartheid in South Africa). In 1973 the United Nations General Assembly eliminated apartheid. (Apartheid).

Results and Implications:
In 1989 F.W De Klerk took over the government and his ideals were anti-apartheid. He eliminated any of the laws that were created for apartheid or were racially discriminatory. He made a new constitution which allowed the black, coloureds, or indian to be free again. (Apartheid). This was mainly possible because of Nelson Mandela, the ANC and anyone else who helped fight for their rights. There were many

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