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Prohibited Africans, who made up over two-thirds of the population in South Africa, from owning or renting land anywhere outside certain parcels of territory designated as native reserves. These native reserves open for African ownership took up just 7.5% of the country of South Africa.
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This was among the first pieces of apartheid legislation to be passed following the National Party's rise to power. Although mixed marriages accounted for less than 3 percent of marriages in South Africa, the goal of this law was to further separate whites from other races by prohibiting marriages between whites and members of other racial groups.
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This law created a national population registry, which required the division and classification of racial groups in South Africa. There were four groups for races to be divided into: Whites, Indians, Coloureds, and Bantu (African). The methods for classification into these groups were arbitrary and therefore caused people to be classified into the wrong groups.
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This law provided for areas to be declared for exclusive use of one particular racial group. It forced people to live in an area designated for their classification group.
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Prohibited South Africans from conspiring to overthrow the government. Alternatively, for people to harbor, conceal, fail to report, or assist those with intentions on committing so-called acts of terrorism against the state was punishable by law.
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This act abolished the traditional pass system used previously in South Africa. Instead of carrying around passes, all South African blacks over the age of 16 carried with them detailed 96-page reference books which contained "permits" that had to be stamped. Blacks who did not have their reference books in order could be arrested.
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Allowed for the strict segregation of all public amenities (public facilities and transport) by racial group. This was the epitome of petty apartheid.
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Enforced segregation of schools - made it mandatory for schools to admit students from one racial group only. This act laid the foundations for Bantu education, which consisted of over-crowded schools and sub-par education.
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Changed the definition of an "employee" so that it no longer included blacks, thus banning all blacks from being members of registered unions. Additionally, it prohibited strikes by black workers, and made lock-outs for blacks, the instigation of strikes and lock-outs, and sympathetic strikes illegal.
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Designed to clear out "black spots" in cities as cities were for whites only. This included the removal of Sophiatown in Johannesburg.
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Prohibited gathering of blacks in open-air public places if the Minister of Justice considered that they could endanger the public peace.
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Removed Coloureds from the common voters' roll. An amendment to the 1951 Separate Representation of Voters Act.
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Authorized any officer to detain any person suspected of a political crime and to hold them for ninety days without access to a lawyer.
