Establishing Apartheid (1948 - 1954) Flashcards
Who was Malan & the National Party’s (Afrikaaner) competition in 1948?
Jan Smuts & the United Party (English)
Why did the United Party argue total segregation was impossible in 1948?
Influx of African labour into cities, which should be stabilised, because this is where industrial need was greatest
Why did the National Party argue total separation of races was necessary in 1948?
Prevent equality and Black society overwhelming white society
What were the National Party’s views in 1948?
Blacks should mainly remain in ‘their true fatherland’ as labour for Afrikaner farmers
Prohibit mixed marriages
Ban Black trade unions
How many seats did the National Party win in 1948?
70 out of 153
How did Afrikaaner nationalism contribute to the National Party winning the 1948 election?
Afrikaners didn’t trust English-speaking parties
How did the 1938 Voortrekker monument contribute to the National Party winning the 1948 election?
It celebrated the Battle of Blood River (where Voortrekkers defeated Zulus) and created a sense of Afrikaner identity
How did the Dutch Reformed Church contribute to the National Party winning the 1948 election?
It provided Afrikaner schools and cultural activities which developed pride in Afrikaner identity
Why did WWII create a divide between white South Africans that was still present by the time of election 1948?
English speakers supported Allies, Afrikaners supported Nazis
What was the economic effect of WWII on South Africa?
Increased need for labour —> Black employment laws relaxed —> whites fear Blacks would take their jobs —> put them off United Party’s more moderate racial policies
How much had Black wages risen in the 1940s?
1/5 of white wage to 1/4
What was the 1948 Sauer Report?
Outlined the National Party’s aims for Apartheid
‘National Suicide’ or Apartheid
1949 Prohibition of…
…Mixed Marriages
1950 Population Registration Act
Defined racial groups that people would be categorised in to
After 1951 there was to be a register of everyone’s race
1950 Group Areas Act
Divided land by race, causing huge migration and difficulties
Many refused and squatted, so squatting was made illegal in 1951
1950 Suppression of Communism Act
Any opposition treated as communism and therefore banned
1952 Abolition of Passes Act
Extended existing Pass laws:
• Black men not carrying passes could lose job or be imprisoned
• All Blacks over age 16 had to carry ‘Pass’ reference book
1953 Separate Amenities Act (Petty Apartheid)
1953 Bantu Education Act
Blacks to be taught in their tribal language, taught diffirent curriculum and received significantly less funding than whites
Universities made exclusively white
1954 Natives Resettlement Act
Population of Sophiatown (75,000) resettled in 1955 into ‘Meadowlands’ township - Sophiatown replaced by white suburb Triomf (Triumph)
Late 1940s ANC
Organised:
• Strikes
• Boycotts
• Stay at homes
1950 May Day Strike
• Organised by South African Communist Party (SACP) in protest against the 1950 Suppression of Communism Act
• Resulted in Police Violence and 18 deaths in Soweto
• Less than 2 months later, SACP forced by the regime to dissolve
1950 National Day of Protest
• Organised by ANC as a day of mourning for May Day killings and protest against the 1950 Suppression of Communism Act
Resulted in:
• Large Scale Strikes
• Mass arrests
1953 Defiance Campaign
• Organised by ANC and SAIC
• Disruptions in Major cities, namely Blacks entering white-only areas
• 8,000 arrested
• ANC membership grew 7,000 —> 100,000
