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http://www.history.com/topics/apartheid
http://www.history.com/topics/nelson-mandela
- Katherine Poinsett

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http://www.history.com/topics/nelson-mandela

https://www.nelsonmandela.org/content/page/timeline

http://www.sahistory.org.za/article/nelson-mandela-presidency-1994-1999
- Nikki Wuster

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Nelson Mandela was born in July 18, 1918, In Mvezo, Transkei, South Africa. He was born as Rolihlahla Mandela. His name literally translates into pulling the branch of the tree, which translates into troublemaker. When he entered primary school, his teacher name him Nelson  because every child needed to have a christian name. His father had 3 other wives and other children too, which made Mandela the youngest out of all the boys. His father lost his wealth after he didn't follow orders from a white man. Mandela's father died of a lung disease , he tells that he died smoking a last smoke.

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The roots of white supremacy and racial segregation were already deeply embedded in South Africa before apartheid began. Three years after South Africa gained independence, The Land Act of 1931 was passed. This controversial act forced black Africans to live on reserves, and it made it illegal for them to work as sharecroppers. The Great Depression and WWII didn't help the situation, as they brought increasing economic strain to South Africa. In 1984, the Afrikaner National Party won the South African general election under the slogan "apartheid". Their goal was to separate the white population of South Africa from the non-white population and to then separate the different non-white populations from each other. They also hoped to decrease the political power of black South Africans by dividing them along tribal lines.

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By 1950 the government had banned marriage between whites and people of other races. The Population Registration act of 1950 pushed this further by creating a classification system for South African's. This system was set up by race, and it included Bantu (black Africans), Coloured (mixed race) and white. Asian (meaning Indian and Pakistani) was later added as a fourth category. The government did almost everything in it's power to keep the races separate. They created separate public spaces, denied non-white participation on government , and they even set aside 80% of the country's land for the white minority. Dr. Hendrik Verwoerd, who became prime minister in 1958, came around and made everything a whole lot worse. He promoted the Bantu Self-Government Act of 1959, which created ten Bantu homelands which were known as Bantustans. These Bantustans separated the black South African's from each other, which enabled the government to claim that there was no black majority, and it removed the black population from the nation's political body. The government also forced black South African's to leave rural areas that had been designated as "white", more than 3.5 million people lost their homes during that time.

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Opposition of apartheid took many forms; nonviolent demonstrations, protests, strikes, political action, and eventually armed resistance. In 1976, a demonstration by black African students drew international attention to South Africa. The arrest of Nelson Mandela also caught international attention and helped gain support for the anti-apartheid cause. This demonstration, combined with a national economic recession, destroyed the illusion that apartheid had brought peace or prosperity to South Africa. Other countries were quick to show their disapproval; in 1985, the United Kingdom and the United States imposed economic sanctions on the country. Facing increased pressure from the international community, the government struggled to come up with reforms. Reforms such as abolition of the pass laws and the ban on interracial sex and marriage were soon passed, however these reforms gave way to little change. In 1998 F.W. de Klerk took office and subsequently repealed the Population Registration Act, as well as most of the other legislation that had allowed apartheid to grow. In 1994, Nelson Mandela was sworn into office as Klerk as his first deputy. Mandela worked to bridge the gap that had been created and to improve the standard of living for South Africa's black population.

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He completed his junior certificate at Clarkebury Boarding Institute and then he went to Healdtown where he got matriculated. When he was 16, he traveled to Tyhalarha to undergo the circumcision ritual that symbolically marked the transition from boys to men. This is the moment when he started to realize that he needed to take life more seriously and leave all his childhood behind. Later on he went ahead to get his Bachelor of Arts degree at the University College of Fort Hare but did not complete the course because he got expelled for joining in a student rebellion.

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In 1952, Nelson Mandela was elected President of the ANC's branch in Transvaal. Him and Oliver Tambo opened a law firm in Johannesburg named Mandela and Tambo. They were the first black legal partnership in South Africa and at that time the only all black African law firm in the country. Not only that but played an important role in ending apartheid. He himself spent 27 years in prison from 1964 till 1990. Some atrocities he had to face were solitary confinement amongst other difficulties of prison. Even though he was in prison, he still continued to be influential that there were numerous calls for his release. On February 1985, South African president P.W Botha offered to free Mandela but he refused saying that the government must first dismantle apartheid. Finally President Klerk released him on February 11, 1990, and after his release he embarked on an international tour to encourage other countries to support sanctions against the SA apartheid government. In a serious of negotiations form 1990 to 1993 between Mandela and de Klerk, the apartheid dismantled and brought to an end

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Presidency- May 10, 1994 --  June 14, 1999
Presidency
- May 9, 1994 Nelson Mandela was elected by parliament to be the first democratic president of South Africa.
- Nelson Mandela's election was the first non-racial election in South Africa. During Mandela's presidency there were many obstacles for Mandela. The crime erupted in South Africa, followed by the assassination of the South African Communist Party leader, Chris Hani. Theses things and more brought on great challenges for Mandela yet he kept a focused head and maintained a delicate balance within the society. In 1993 Nelson Mandela was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for his works towards his works towards abolishing apartheid.

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-  In 1994  Nelson Mandela co-founded the American Youth Foundation (AYC) youth foundation.
- 1948 Mandela was elected secretary of the African National Youth League.
-  1951  Mandela became the President of the African  National Youth League
- 1952 elected Transvaal African National Congress
- Devised the  M-Plan for the African National Congress' future underground operations.

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-Nelson Mandela, a South African activist and and former president. Mandela lead major leadership roles throughout his lifetime. Mandela lead peaceful protest and an armed resistance against the white minority's oppressive regime in the racially divided South Africa. Although his actions did land him in prison for around 3 decades. Even after being let out of prison Mandela continued his leadership throughout the South Africa and the world.  Nelson Mandela over his lifetime accomplished so many things within his life time. He even went on to win a Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.