Peter Fanelli Rabbi Ben History & The Modern World 15 October 2011 Nelson Mandela Inaugural Address

Nelson Mandela an extremely powerful and influential man was born in South Africa in July of 1918. As a young man he was tried for sabotage and was confined in jail for life. His imprisonment was set for life but he only ended up serving 27 years before they released him. After being released from prison, He made a dignified return back to the political New Regime. During this time he was campaigning Let there be justice for all. Let there be peace for all. Let there be work, bread and salt for all. The time for the healing of the wounds has come(irr.org.uk). He became president of South Africa in 1994 and retired from his presidency in 1999. During the running of Mandelas Presidency the campaign stated, Mr Mandela's African National Congress (ANC) party won 252 of the 400 seats in the first democratic elections of South Africa's history. The inauguration ceremony took place in the Union Buildings amphitheatre in Pretoria today, attended by politicians and dignitaries from more than 140 countries around the world. (news.bbc.co.uk) Not only was Nelson Mandela the first president that came from jail, he was also the first black president of South Africa. During his presidency he addressed the people with a formal inaugural address on may 10th of 1994, in his Inaugural Address he talks to the people about a sense of unity and a new beginning of peace and will be faced with newborn liberty. This is how he sees South Africa in the future, in his speech he shows respect to all who live with in the same

country Nelson Mandela speaks to the people about building peace prosperity, nonsexism, on-racialism and a democracy that will shape the country. Nelson Mandela writes his Inaugural Address to show the people what his plans are, and what he wants to accomplish while he is the new president. He wants to accomplish what the presidents before him did not. Since Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years his story of living with out freedoms was stronger then anyone out side the walls. Once your freedoms is taken away u see things differently and you realize how it be changed. During the 1990s president F.W.de Klerk ended the government ban on the African National Congress (ANC) and also freed Mandela in 1990. Once he was free he took control and guidance to organize the new party Nelson worked Tireless over the next few years to negotiate an end to apartheid and minority rule gaining widespread respect and support in the process (public.wsu.edu). During this time he would fight for equal rights. Equal right would be shared to the people who loved the country originally, those who where here before every one else. Nelson says To my compatriots, I have no hesitation in saying that each one of us is as intimately attached to the soil of this beautiful country as are the famous jacaranda trees of Pretoria and the mimosa trees of the bushveld. Each time one of us touches the soil of this land, we feel a sense of personal renewal. The national mood changes as the seasons change. We are moved by a sense of joy and exhilaration when the grass turns green and the flowers bloom. Not only by his speeches but also by using modern technology. During this time South Africa

was controlled by a majority of white citizens, such as America was before the civil rights movement in 1955. Both Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King Jr. are fighting for equal rights among black and whites. Both wanted to eliminate the difference between colors. He states that the people here make this country (famousquotes.me.uk) Nelsons created his speech so it can explain to the people what actions are going to be taken while he is president. Its not clear where Mandela got his ideas for his speech but he has some of the same concepts as Martin Luther King Jrs I Have a Dream speech Both talk about changing the country and eliminating racism, or as Nelson Mandela likes to say a rainbow nation at peace with itself and the world this is a quote taken out of his inaugural address. He wants freedom and peace not just within his town or country but within the whole world, a world in witch everyone can be together. Since Nelson Mandelas Inaugural Address was so recent and was simply delivered in 1994. It has not had the time to affect later authors. But his speeches and awards such as the Nobel Peace Prize witch in 1993 witch was awarded jointly to Nelson Mandela and Frederik Willem de Klerk "for their work for the peaceful termination of the apartheid regime, and for laying the foundations for a new democratic South Africa"(nobelprize.org). Knowing that Nelson Mandela was a Nobel Peace Prize Award winner made his Inaugural Address so much more powerful to the people. It showed that he was not some person talking about something they knew nothing about. But some one change who, would put their life on the line to change the way the world runs. Even his Inaugural Address did not affect later authors, it affected the people that where present during the speech, but also affecting him self in his future work.

In Nelson Mandela speech he showed his people that he really did care and believe in what he was saying. He wanted to make a change. He wanted Freedom for his people more then anything let there be work, bread, water and salt for all where very powerful words that Mandela used in his speech. Each and every person sitting in front of him knew exactly what he was saying and could either understand or relate to it. This is how he affected later authors. This is because one person with in the crowd of people will take Nelson Mandelas Words to heart and be the next one to make a powerful speech to thousands of people. Nelson Mandela once presented a very famous article, his Inaugural Address. In his article he talked about how he is going to change the way South Africa works. How through his time as president he will change the way people look upon one another, no matter what color or where they have come from in the past

Work Cited

1) http://www.famousquotes.me.uk/speeches/Nelson_Mandela/ 2) http://www.irr.org.uk/faces/mandela.html 3) http://public.wsu.edu/~wldciv/world_civ_reader/world_civ_reader_2/mandela.html 4) http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/10/newsid_2661000/2661503.stm 5) http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1993/ 6) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Mandela