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Nelson Mandela Research Paper

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Nelson Mandela Research Paper
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 …show more content…
At that time, he learned about how wonderful and peaceful life was before the arrival of the Caucasians. Mandela's elders used to say, "Then our people lived peacefully, under the democratic rule…we occupied the land, the forests, the rivers…we set up and operated our own government…then the country was ours" (Benson 16). After hearing his elders constantly reflect on their wonderful past with their peaceful country, Mandela must have known that he never had known what it was like to live that way and also that his country would never be able to experience that kind of lifestyle, unless somebody stood up to the white supremacy. Mandela brought his yearning of a new South Africa to his treason trials right before his life sentence. He read to the people, "Africans want to be paid a living wage. Africans want to perform work which they are capable of doing…want to live where they obtain work…want to own land…be part of the general population…live with their children…we want equal political rights" (Benson 158). Mandela said all of this to whites and blacks at his trial so he would be able to have all people see how horribly his people were being treated. He had learned of a great life from his elders, and so he needed it to become a reality once again. Geoff Tabbner, a radical supporter of Nelson Mandela, recognized his dream and also recognized the changes needed for society. Geoff said, "South Africa has many problems. The nation has 50 percent unemployment and 90 percent of those jobless people are blacks and Asians. That's a reflection of South Africa's depressed economy" (Carlson 4). By dictating to the people, Nelson Mandela united many into learning how poorly the country was because of the whites and allowed them to have a common goal: to achieve a greater South Africa. This is a great contribution to society because it

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