Preview

How Did Nelson Mandela Grow Up In South Africa?

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
464 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
How Did Nelson Mandela Grow Up In South Africa?
Nelson Mandela grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa. Growing up in South Africa exposed him to the ways that different races were discriminated against, specifically the black population. In 1941, Mandela completed his law degree at the University of South Africa. He later attended University of Witwatersrand and by 1952 Mandela had opened the first black law firm in South Africa with his friend Oliver Tambo. While he was creating the law firm, he joined the African National Congress and worked to put an end to the apartheid. From the beginning of joining the African National Congress in 1944, Mandela fought against the white supremacy. His ideal living would be a free society where all people lived with equal opportunities. He embodied these ideas in his fight while in the African National Congress. Mandela fought against the apartheid policies which was a …show more content…
His first eighteen years in jail were at Robben Island Prison where he had no bed or plumbing. However, while living in these horrible conditions for 27 years Mandela created friendships with other political prisoners and guards. This allowed him to educate his fellow prisoners on adopting nonviolent approaches to get better treatment in their prison. Nelson Mandela did not break his spirit and he did not stop believing his views on life. Finally, on February 11, 1990 he was released from prison and continued fighting against segregation. On May 10, 1994, Mandela became the first black president of South Africa. During his five years as the president of South Africa, Mandela brought peace to the racially divided country. While he was in presidency the country began to lose the minority rule and apartheid. This lead to earning the respect throughout the world for resolving the racial segregation in his

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    When Mandela became part of the African National Congress, he made a very courageous decision to fight against apartheid. Apartheid was supported by the government, as it was a system which allowed white members of the South African government to have more superiority over African citizens. Mandela risked his reputation and life to stand up for people who did not gain anything from apartheid. Nelson Mandela passed the test because he could have easily allowed apartheid to continue in South Africa, but instead he stood up for all of the people who were suffering from the…

    • 616 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Nelson Mandela was a civil rights activist who became the president of South Africa. He was jailed for 27 years where he served a good portion of his life protesting for apartheid meaning non-white rights where blacks were segregated from whites.…

    • 189 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Nelson Mandela was born July 18, 1918 in a small village in southern Africa and named Rolihlahla Mandela. In a country controlled by a white government, he was extremely fortunate to become the first of his family to attend school. Since his name meant “troublemaker,” his school teacher decided to call him Nelson hoping that he would not cause trouble with a new name. Little did she know that in a few years he would become one of the greatest troublemakers in history; a man who would change the racial ideals of the ruling white minority.…

    • 173 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Nelson Madela the Leader

    • 483 Words
    • 2 Pages

    “I have cherished the idea of a democratic and free society in which all people live together in harmony and with equal opportunities”. Nelson Mandela explained while making a struggle to integrated black and white SouthAfrica.For him to say an intense quote he had been through many struggles in his life. For example, when Nelson Mandela began to fight for Black and White to have equal civil rights he first began with non-violence acts to protest like boycotts, civil disobedience, and non-cooporation.Making the government pass a law which took him to prison, Nelson Mandela was imprisoned on Robben Island. He stayed in Robben Island for 18 years out of the 27.After Mandela’s protests made the government look bad, he was sentenced to life prison on charges of sabotage. After being 18 years in jail he was transferred to Pollsmoor Prison where he continued to inspire the fight against apartheid.…

    • 483 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    He co-founded and became the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe ("Spear of the Nation") in 1961 (Nelson Mandela Biography: bio.com). This organization was aimed at forcing the South African governments to recognize the rights of black people in the country (Nelson Mandela: history.com). Another organization that Mandela was a big part of when involved in politics was the ANC Youth League. The aim of this was to excite the youth to join the rest of the blacks in fighting against the segregation in the country (UMkhonto WeSizwe). Nelson Mandela worked for twenty years with nonviolent protesting against the South African government and its racist policies (Biography of Nelson Mandela). After all of his accomplishments, Mandela's life was a wild rollercoaster of positives and…

    • 871 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    to end Apartheid. Mandela made it his life's work to end the reign of an oppressive regime and made many sacrifices. Mandela was arrested for his opposition to the government. He spent 27 years in jail for his participation in the anti Apartheid campaigns. In 1990 Mandela was released from prison and four years later became South Africa's first black president. If not for Nelson Mandela and his civil disobedience to a corrupt government, South Africa might still be run by a racist majority.…

    • 524 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In 1994, he became the country's first black president. Over his lifetime, he fought against the unjust laws of the British colonial ideals, and allowed the country to move into modern day idealisms. Mandela recently passed away in December of 2013 at his home in Johannesburg. He was 95.…

    • 687 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Before we compare the movie Invictus and the actual history, I will tell you the historical background of Nelson Mandela, South Africa, and apartheid. Mandela was born in 1918 and was originally named Rolihlahla, which means troublemaker. During his childhood, the white population increased in South Africa due to the discovery of gold and diamonds. As Mandela was entering his adulthood decides he goes to live and work in Johannesburg,…

    • 939 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Nelson Mandela was borne in a small village in south Africa. he did not know about white supremacist or apartheid he was sheltered from the outside world and its racism…

    • 77 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    At the age of 24 he joined the ANC (African National Congress), it was a “group that sought to establish social and political rights for blacks in South Africa” (Nelson Mandela par. 3). Mandela and his close friend Sisulu founded the “ANC Youth League”. This group just like Marther Luther King Jr. did nonviolent protest to get there point across the government. Because of this many protester were beaten by police and jailed for defying South Africa’s government, this include Mandela as well. After he was release he continue on with his campaign even though he was forbidden to from attend or doing public speaking. Things got worse after the death of 69 protesters who were unarmed were killed by police. The horrific massacre made Mandela decide…

    • 191 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Nelson Mandela was the dreamer, with a dream to destroy the apartheid and earn equal rights. He was not a selfish man by any means, and wanted to save the other South African’s suffrage. In the 1900’s when Mandela began his pursuit, the citizens of South Africa were living under a skewed government. A white supremacy was running the black majority, and segregating laws were being passed to diminish any power given to black South Africans. By the mid 1950’s, the government had made it illegal for a white to get married to someone of an opposing race.…

    • 1212 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Apartheid, a system of discrimination on grounds of race. Apartheid affected the social life of Indians and black people living in South Africa, restrictions include outlawing of marriage between non-whites and whites. Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu decided to act on this injustice. While Tutu resorted to non-violent tactics and based decisions on religion, Mandela sometimes used a violent approach for change and based decisions on morality. Besides the differences, both believed in reconciliation and forgiveness. Although Mandela and Tutu had different leadership styles, both were determined to end apartheid.…

    • 299 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Nelson Mandela was born on July 18, 1918 in Transkei, South Africa. He was educated at the University College of Fort Hare and the University of Witwatersrand and qualified in law in 1942. In 1944, he joined the African National Congress (ANC) and became one of the many to engage in the resistance against Apartheid and the unjust white supremacy. In 1952, he earned the role of ANC deputy national president, and advocated nonviolent procedures towards Apartheid. From 1956 to 1961, he was arrested by the police and went on trial for treason, and fortunately was acquitted in 1961. After his release, he learned of several peaceful demonstrators being massacred, and so, he considered the use of guerrilla warfare and other violent tactics on…

    • 1391 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Famous Thinkers

    • 1563 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Nelson Mandela was born in Mvezo, South Africa in July 18,1918. He was named Rolihlahla at birth by his father who was the principal counselor to the acting king of the Thembu people, Jongintaba. After his father’s death, he became the ward of the Jongintaba. He was raised in a relatively…

    • 1563 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    "During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought again white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die. (Denenberg 83-85)" These were Nelson Mandela's last words before being sentenced to life imprisonment for recruiting and training for the purpose of sabotage and violent revolution. As a result of love and dedication to both his people and nation, the ideal that Mandela expresses has become reality. Through…

    • 3478 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Powerful Essays