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Mandela forms ANC Youth League with Walter Sisulu
Nelson Mandela formed the ANC Youth League with Walter Sisulu in 1944 to help the anti-apartheid movement gain momentum (South Africa: Overcoming Apartheid, Building Democracy). The League's manifesto stated, "We believe that the national liberation of Africans will be achieved by Africans themselves ... The Congress Youth League must be the brains-trust and power-station of the spirit of African nationalism" (Long Walk to Freedom). -
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Timeline of Anti-Apartheid Protests in South Africa
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ANC launches Defiance of Unjust Laws Campaign
The ANC put Mandela in charge of the Defiance of Unjust Laws Campaign, which was launched in 1952. The campaign, which Mandela decided would be carried out peacefully, added 93,000 new members to the ANC (South African History Online). The same year, the Afrikaner government put a stop to the campaign, arresting 8,577 protesters and banning the leaders of the campaign, including Mandela, from gatherings and protests (Higher Than Hope: The Authorized Bibliography of Nelson Mandela). -
ANC drafts Freedom Charter
The Freedom Charter was drafted at the Congress of the People in Kliptown on June 26, 1955. It outlined the demands of black South Africans for a nation of racial equality (The Freedom Charter, anc.org.za). The Charter "captured the hopes and dreams of the people and acted as a blueprint for the liberation struggle and the future of the nation" (Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom).
The Freedom Charter -
Sharpeville Massacre
On March 21, 1960, about 5,000 peaceful protesters taking part in an anti-pass demonstration arrived at the police station to turn themselves in for not carrying a pass. All was going well, until a small fight broke out and a police officer was accidentally pushed down. The 500 officers present at the demonstration began to stone, and eventually open fire on, the protesters. 69 demonstrators were killed and 180 were injured. This became known as the Sharpeville Massacre (Higher than Hope). -
Mandela forms Spear of the Nation
In June of 1961, despite concern from fellow ANC members, Mandela proposed the formation of Umkhonto we Sizwe, or the Spear of the Nation - a resistance army. Mandela envisioned that the army would attack government buildings and establishments. "I was candid and explained why I believed we had no choice but to turn to violence. I used an old African expression ... The attacks of the wild beast cannot be averted with only bare hands" (Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom). -
Mandela returns to S. Africa and is arrested
After going underground and traveling abroad in Africa for over a year to form the Spear of the Nation, Mandela returned home to South Africa. Almost immediately upon his arrival in his homeland, the police stopped his car and arrested him. During his time underground, the Afrikaner government had been tirelessly searching for Mandela. "The authorities had been harassing [my wife] Winnie in the belief that she would know whether or not I was back" (Long Walk to Freedom). -
Start of Rivonia Trial
Due to Mandela's long history of inciting protest and defying laws, the Afrikaner government was anxious to silence him. He was already in prison when the police brought him to court on October 9th, 1963. Mandela was accused of sabotage and attempting to overthrow the state through violent revolution (Mandela, Tambo, and the African National Congress: The Struggle against Apartheid, 1948-1990, A Documentary Survey). -
Mandela sentenced to life in prison
The Rivonia Trial lasted for a year and was followed by masses of people. "The world had been paying attention to the Rivonia Trial," Mandela observed. Mandela was convinced that he was going to receive the death penalty. He recalled, "I was prepared for the death penalty. To be truly prepared for something, one must actually expect it" (Long Walk to Freedom). On June 12, 1964, he was convicted, but sentenced to life in prison instead of death (Wilson Web).
