Nelson Mandela

Myles York
CLN4U-M
M.Stephenson
October 10, 2013

On July 18 1918 a man by the name of Nelson Mandela was born in Transkei,

South Africa. Hendry Mphakanyisma was his father part of the Tembu Tribe. Nelson

attended University College of Fort Hare and the University of Witwatersrand which he

chose to study law. While at university he became friends with a man named Oliver

Tambo and together after their schooling they decided to open a law firm for people of

color that provided free or low cost representation for those in need who had financial

trouble. Mr. Mandela didn’t like all the injustices happening in law and he thought he

could change this by joining the political side of the law, so in 1944 he joined the African

National Congress. He was apart of the resistance that was opposed to the National’s

Party segregation policies after 1948. He went to trial for treason in 1956-1961 and was

free in 1961.

Nelson Mandela was inspired to start working towards change due to his beliefs.

He did not like all the injustice that had taken place with the apartheid and wanted the

racial discrimination to end by the white minority. After 69 protesters unfortunately died

during a massive protest in Sharpeville, Nelson Mandela believed military action was

necessary. Mandela raised money and he organized an attack on the military and

important apartheid targets but sadly in there attempt to stop the apartheid system

civilians began to die due to the war. He continued to use violent ways to try and stop

the apartheid system, but that came to n end in 1962. Nelson Mandela had received a

life sentence in prison for traveling without a passport. He ended up serving 27 years in

prison of his life sentence from 1963-1990. From day one that Mandela was in prison he

began to use a non-violent approach with the prison guards to resist them. Also while he

was imprisoned he made sure that he kept the inmates from feeling the mental state of of being a victim. Even though the prisoners we exposed to hard working conditions,

Mandela wanted