HIST2614 Part 2

Theme Two: Urban Resistance against Apartheid (1948-1960)

Worksheet 2

For this theme, we will examine resistance against the implementation of apartheid in urban areas
between 1948 and 1960. In a period of about 10 years, the National Party government introduced
a series of apartheid laws that significantly changed South Africa’s social, economic, and political
landscape. These harsh laws pressed South Africans to fight back, overthrow the system, and
demand a South African future that broke with a long history of racial oppression and inequality.
This challenge was largely expressed through civil disobedience, such as strikes and
demonstrations. However, the apartheid state would also push back through arrest, imprisonment,
and killings. Such protest was shaped by the rise of nationalist movements in post-World War Two
urban South Africa. Understanding this phase of the anti-apartheid struggle will help us to gain a
deeper understanding of the whole apartheid project.

Outcomes for Theme 2

- Describe the strategies and impact of the anti-apartheid campaigns during the 1950s
- Understand the significance of the Congress of the People and the Freedom Charter
- Describe the importance of the Sharpeville Massacre in the context of South Africa’s anti-
apartheid protests

Readings for Theme 2

- Dubow, Saul. Apartheid, 1948-1994. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014. Read pp. 10-
20, pp. 38-45; 68-78).
- Simpson, Thula. History of South Africa: From 1902 to the Present. London: Penguin
Random House, 2021. Read “Chapter 10: Defiance” and “Chapter 11: Charterists and
Africanists”.
- Lodge, Tom. “The Cape Town Troubles, March-April 1960.” Journal of Southern African
Studies 4, 2 (1978): 216-239.
- Haris, Thomas. “The South African Treason Trial.” Political Science Quarterly 76, 2
(1961): 217-24.

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Worksheet Exercises

1. “The emergence of the National Party government’s apartheid system in 1948 birthed
organized and widespread challenge against racialism in South Africa”. Looking at the
period 1948 to 1960 to what extent do you agree with this statement?
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2. What was the significance of the ‘African Claims’ document and in what ways did it
borrow from the Atlantic Charter?
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3. Explain the different ideological positions of the Africanists and multi-racialists within the
ANC at the time of the Defiance Campaign and the Congress of the People.
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4. What did the Defiance Campaign and the Sharpeville demonstrations respectively achieve
for the anti-apartheid movement?

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5. Despite the various and spirited efforts to topple the apartheid system between 1949 and
1960, this goal was not achieved. Please account for this.
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6. Discuss the strategies deployed by the state in order to oppose anti-apartheid activities?
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7. Discuss the idea that the Sharpeville massacre was a turning point in the form and
character of the anti-apartheid struggle.
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Well done on completing Worksheet 1 of HIST2618 Part 2.

Keep your completed worksheet for future reference and study purposes.