Apartheid South Africa Laws

Mine and Works Act

1911

This act gave the white workers the monopoly on skilled jobs, forcing colored people to take the lesser desired unskilled jobs. This led to a large economic gap for the colored people that led to the white government taking advantage of them. This law can be said to be one of the first "dominoes" that led to the powerful discimination between whites and colored peoples.

Natives (Urban Areas) Act

1923

This act established the requirement for black men to have a permit when entering a city. These permits had to always be on hand or they were considered illegal in that city. This act was important because it served as a sort of segway into the Pass Laws Act of 1952, where the large pass book was required at all times.

Immorality Act

1927

This act forbade marriage between a white and black person. It was the first legislation prohibiting marriage, as there were others later on forbidding whites to marry any race, including Indians, Asians, and Caucaisans.

Group Areas Act

1950

This act banned Black Africans from entering the cities and "white areas", creating a sense of isolation for the colored people. This was significant because it encompassed the ideals of petty apartheid.

Pass Laws Act

1952

This act stated that all blacks over 16 must carry a "passbook" at all times. This created a sense of senseless persistence against integration, as any white authority could search a black man whenever they want. This was significant because it received many criticisms as a poor and impractical method to enforce separation.

Bantu Education Policy

1953

This policy enforced apartheid in schools, giving the majority of funds to the "white schools." This, in turn, fueled the intelligence gap between whites and colored people in order to force colored people into less wanted jobs like mining and factory working.

Natives Resettlement Act

1954

This act began the systematic removal of blacks out of "white territories." This act was important because it was the one of the supplementary reasons why 3.5 million blacks were removed from their homes. This, in conjunction with the Group Areas Act, uprooted millions of families from their homes into less-than-habitable territories.

Promotion of Bantu Solf-Government Act

1959

The White Commission General was tasked with assisting each group till they could self-govern. There acted as "moderators" to make sure everything went well according to their plans. However, the true intention was to get rid of the political responsibility of black South Africans by isolating them in bantustans.

Homelands Citizen Act

1970

This act stripped citizenship from the black South Africans, giving them citizenship to their own respective bantustans. This was important because it was a massive step in Grand Apartheid: complete separation of color from white populations.

South African Constitution

1993

This piece of legislation successfully ended Apartheid South Africa, including the ideology of "Grand Apartheid" through methods like bantustans. This consitution marked the definite end of Apartheid, although there were many acts and writings that reduced the apartheid influence.