Level 1
Identify the basis of Apartheid ideology
Aparthied is based on the assumption that various ethnic groups are essentially different, each claiming a set of common physical characteristics that distinguishes it from other racial groups, similar to social darwinist philosophies such as Nazism that were popularized in Europe at the beginning of the 20th century, seeking justification for calvinist scripture.
Discuss the influence of judicial changes in advancing the civil rights movement in the United States
Brown v board of education was celebrated as a significant victory by most African Americans and some white Americans with some school districts immediately beginning desegregation, however, many southern school districts refused. 10/11 former Confederate states based laws requiring segregated schools and prohibiting tax dollars be spent on desegregated schools. In 1956, 96 southern legislators pledged not to allow for desegregated public schools in the Southern Manifesto and the Viginian Program of Massive Resistance exemplifying the dedication of most states to keeping segregation.
- Evaluate the effectiveness of non-violent protest in catalyzing change in Apartheid-era South Africa
Non-violent protests ultimately catalyzed into the Defiance Campaign of civil disobedience which failed in many crucial aspects and inevitably gave way to armed resistance after the Sharpeville massacre. The ANC failed to achieve any of its political objectives throughout this campaign, with none of the 6 unjust laws being repealed and the government emerging with stronger repressive powers. Rural and poorer blacks were hardly significant with the majority of protest being held in Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth, ANC strongholds, and general strikes never materialized and thus the campaign made no real impact on the South African economy. On the other hand, the ANC had managed to coordinate extended national campaign with leadership proving itself capable of discipline and sacrifice, alongside thousands of ordinary south africans. A broad coalition of interest groups was involved in planning and hardly anyone that wasn't African opposed the campaign. It also enormously grew the ANC’s national and global profile.
Evaluate the success of Grand Apartheid legislative victories in Apartheid-era govenrment
efore any determination can be reached about the successes of Grand Apartheid legislative victories, a variety of factors must be considered. Grand Apartheid refers to the later stages of apartheid in the late 1950s, enacted by HF Verwoerd which largely aimed to mark a departure from the straightforward racial discrimination and precedents set by prior prime ministers to lead to the ultimate objective of full independence for each component part of South Africa with separate development for different peoples within their own national jurisdiction. The primary legislative gain in this era was the passage of the Bantu Authorities Act and the Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act which enforced the Bantustan system which refers to the flagship program of the Grand Apartheid in which each of the Black peoples of South Africa would be given their own self-governing homeland achieved by transforming existing native reserves into a number of small, fully independent states. This is significant because it refers to the ultimate goal for Apartheid legislation in which all Black South Africans would be required to live in these homelands, rather than within South Africa, and thus would become citizens of such homeland turning South Africa into an excluvely White country. These homelands became fully independent in the 1970s through the 1980s, being put on hold as tentative steps towards dismantling the apartheid system began durign this era. Blacks felt no political alliegance to their homelands and the international community refused to acknowledge them as the government attempting to create a moral fig leaf for apartheid, never being recognized by any country other than South Africa itself. Moreover, they were hopelessly overcrowded as 13% of the land held well over half of the population of South Africa with underdeveloped infrastructure and unsafe living conditions.
Evaluate the role of women in the Civil Rights Movement
Rosa Parks
Identify the main objectives of the South African Party led by Louis Botha and Jan Smuts
Each aimed to create a comprehensive system of racial segregation via various acts includng the Act of the Union which restricted all voting rights to the minority white population, the mines and works act fo 1911 which reserved all semi-skilled positions in the mining industry for whites, the native land act of 1913 which prohibited Africans from owning or renting land outside certain parcels of territory that were designed for native reserves, etc
Examine the legacy of Jim Crow laws economically for African Americans during the Civil Rights movement
Jim Crow restricted economic possibilities and success for African American families by creating laws that prevented poor African Americans and whites from working together and forming unions. Desirable jobs were reserved for whites and African Americans were given the worst jobs for lowest pay.
Examine the distinguishing methods used by the MK and their armed wing in the fight for equality in Apartheid-era South Africa
By any objective reckoning, the MK was in many ways a failure as its creation gave the government the ability to launch an all-out assault against liberation movements, but showed that Africans were not afraid to take up arms against the government with courageous acts of sabotage carried out by the MK adding to the lustrue of the ANC and helped keep the spirit of the resistance alive.
To what extent was the Sharpeville massacre vital to the decision to adopt armed struggle
Sharpeville marked a turning point in the history fo the ANC in which moderate figures saw the apartheid state as viscious and unrepentant. Peaceful campaigns of civil disobedience had been scorned by authorities who reacted with brutal repression as old strategies of the ANC continued to fail. The ANC found itself banned and driven underground with any lingering possibility of consultation and negotiation now vanished alongside finding a serious nationalist rival in the PAC. On the other hand, internal debate about armed struggle had been underway for years before Sharpeville with younger ANC leaders having close ties to the SACP regarded as firebrands of the movement. Mandela had previously been asked to formulate a series of contingency measures that the movement could adopt known as the M Plan that recommended the ANC dissolve central organization to create a number of clandestine cells before a full scale guerrilla insurgency.
Evaluate the role of women in the Apartheid struggle
ANC Women’s Movement
Identify the major events in which shaped the SACP
The Communist Party of South Africa was founded in Cape Town in 1921 with the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia inspiring revolutionaries around the globe prompting many Marxist parties and dramatic growth of the South African labor movement after WWI influencing their development.
Discuss the role of Brown v Board of Education in pushing the US school system away from segregationist practices
There are many aspects to consider in regard to the role Brown v Board of Education plays in transforming the US education system and segregation. The decision sparked numerous statewide campaigns against segregation including Virginia’s plan of Massive Resistance and 10/11 confederate states passing legislation which refused to give tax dollars to schools which had desegregated, however, this inevitably gave the federal government initiative to push for desegregation in public schools.
Examine the role of the Sharpeville massacre in forcing the adoption of the armed struggle in Apartheid-era South Africa
Sharpeville marked a turning point in the history fo the ANC in which moderate figures saw the apartheid state as viscious and unrepentant. Peaceful campaigns of civil disobedience had been scorned by authorities who reacted with brutal repression as old strategies of the ANC continued to fail. The ANC found itself banned and driven underground with any lingering possibility of consultation and negotiation now vanished alongside finding a serious nationalist rival in the PAC. On the other hand, internal debate about armed struggle had been underway for years before Sharpeville with younger ANC leaders having close ties to the SACP regarded as firebrands of the movement. Mandela had previously been asked to formulate a series of contingency measures that the movement could adopt known as the M Plan that recommended the ANC dissolve central organization to create a number of clandestine cells before a full scale guerrilla insurgency.
To what extent did the Rivona trial and subsequent imprisonment of the ANC leadership catalyze change in Apartheid-era politics
The Rivonia Trial marked the end of an era of struggle against the apartheid in which the government had successfully broken the ANC and MK with the exception of the still banned and physically frail Chief Luthuli who was the only leader not imprisoned or exiled. Townships would remain quiet if defiant for over a decade with little threaten to the security of the apartheid state until the Soweto Uprising of 1976. After the Rivonia Trial, Oliver Tambo became the effective leader of the ANC in exile working from Lusaka Zambia allowing the ANC to remain organizationally intact despite military failures. Nelson Mandela would become an idol for the millions of Sotuth Africans who remained opponents of apartheid and new political movements would be born including Steve Biko’s South African Student’s Organization and the Black Consciousness Movement as well as the United Democratic Front.
Evaluate the role of the South African Communist Party (SACP) in politics in the Apartheid-era
Before any determination can be reached about the role of the South African Communist Party in Apartheid-era politics, a variety of factors must be considered. The SACP
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Distinguish between the role of Petty and Grand Apartheid legislation advancing in the Apartheid movement in South Africa
When referring to both Petty Apartheid Legislation and Grand Apartheid Legislation, it is important to create certain distinctions immediately. In turn these largely relate to the time period in which the legislation was enacted, with Petty Apartheid largely referring to the first few years of NP rule under Malan and Strijdom as prime ministers, and the later stages of apartheid in the late 1950s, enacted by HF Verwoerd. Moreover, Petty Apartheid aimed to ensure complete economic and political domination of White over Black as referred to by baasskap which connotates brutal subjugation of the Black Majority and petty which suggests the fussy nature of these policies. Grand Apartheid largely aimed to mark a departure from the straightforward racial discrimination and precedents set by prior prime ministers to lead to the ultimate objective of full independence for each component part of South Africa with separate development for different peoples within their own national jurisdiction.
Examine the efforts made by the NAACP in advancing civil rights in the United States
The NAACP was instrumental in the fight for the rights of African Americans, growing quickly with the fight against lynching as a prime area of advocacy after being established following a race riot in Springfield Illinois in 1908. Utilized many attorneys to fight various court cases including Brown v Board, with legal work continuing through e NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund and lobbying congressmen and senators for votes on civil rights legislation.
Evaluate the effectiveness of methods of segregation in population and amentities by the Apartheid-era govenrment in systematic division of the populations
Before any determination can be reached about the effectiveness of segregationist techniques to separate the populations and amenities each could receive, a variety of factors must be considered. The Group Areas Act designed to bring about total residential segregation of the different racial groups in urban areas, specifically by removing non-Whites from inner city areas that would henceforth be designated as Whites-only areas. Led to the Natives Resettlement Act in 1954 and Group Areas Development Act in 1955 as to ensure authorities would be able to remove blacks from magisterial districts of Johannesburg after questions dealing with Mixed-population areas. Did not confine all Africans to the townships as those who had already been employed in a city retained the right to live in municipal areas and African individuals who were a benefit to the white population, such as housekeepers, were able to remain thus could not bring about full separation of the races.
To what extent was the Bantu Education Act of 1953 successful in achieving the end goal of segregation in education in the Apartheid era.
It can be argued with a fair amount of certainty that the Bantu Education Act of 1953 was relatively successful in achieving its goal of segregating the education system in South Africa during the Apartheid era to teh extent that is ensured Black children would achieve grossly inferior levels of education as compared to white children in separate, unequipped facilites. The law forced schools to admit children of only a single race and brought education of Africans under the direct control of the Native Affairs department which was to be headed by pro-Apartheid politician HF Verwoerd. This created a system of distinct education policy for each race based on what authorities determined to be tailored to intellectual capacity and practical requirements of each racial group, with African children receiving almost no academic content. Rudimentary technical skills, basic literacy levels, and tribalism were core tenants of the education policy developed.
To what extent were the protest methods of Martin Luther King Jr successful in catalyzing change in the civil rights movement
Non-violent protest methods, bus boycott
Define the Bantustan system in the Apartheid movement
The Bantustan system or homelands system refers to the flagship program of the Grand Apartheid in which each of the Black peoples of South Africa would be given their own self-governing homeland achieved by transforming existing native reserves into a number of small, fully independent states. This is significant because it refers to the ultimate goal for Apartheid legislation in which all Black South Africans would be required to live in these homelands, rather than within South Africa, and thus would become citizens of such homeland turning South Africa into an excluvely White country.
To what extent was Lydon B Johnson successful in advancing civil rights in the United States as president
Lyndon B Johnson became president just as Kennedy’s civil rights bill had largely stalled in the US House and Senate with much of the federal focus being on foreign policy, however, Johnson used his knowledge of senate strategy and political debts owed to him by wavering senators to help the Civil Rights Act pass the US senate n 1964
Analyze the impact of division and classification by the South African government and its impact on individuals
Certain ideas and legislation are vital to our understanding of the division and classification of South Africans by their government as well as the subsequent impact on individuals. This was an essential prerequisite for enforcement of apartheid legislation and began with the Population registration act of 1950 - begins apartheid legislation, classified entire population by race, creating a national population register with each citizen defined according to the racial group in which they belonged with this appearing on official identity documents. Within families, certain genetic traits which skipped generations and reappeared divided families as darker skin would be reason to classify a child as colored under the law and moreover made it difficult if not impossible for those of different racial groups to live together. Interracial relationships were banned and compulsory reclassification of a race was not uncommon with prospects in the world being damaged by such changes.
Other: Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act and the Immorality Act, The Reservation of Separate Amenities Act, The Pass Laws Act
Examine the distinguishing methods used by the MK and their armed wing in the fight for equality in Apartheid-era South Africa
By any objective reckoning, the MK was in many ways a failure as its creation gave the government the ability to launch an all-out assault against liberation movements, but showed that Africans were not afraid to take up arms against the government with courageous acts of sabotage carried out by the MK adding to the lustrue of the ANC and helped keep the spirit of the resistance alive.
Evaluate the role of the Ku Klux Klan in advancing racism and violence against African Americans in the civil rights movement
Before any determination can be reached about the role of the Ku Klux Klan in advancing racism and violence against African Americans, a variety of factors must be considered. The KKK made up the primary voice for the white opposition to racial equality and depended on methods of intimidation and violence, as well as negating reconstruction in general.