Revival of ANC and Youth League Influence

The 1940s saw a revival of the ANC, largely driven by the formation of the ANC Youth League in 1944. This marked a significant turning point in the organization's approach to resistance.

Highlight: The ANC Youth League, formed in 1944, played a crucial role in pushing the ANC towards more militant strategies.

The Youth League, composed of young, well-educated African professionals, brought new energy and ideas to the ANC. They promoted a more radical vision of African nationalism and self-determination, which contrasted with the more conservative approach of the older ANC leadership.

Vocabulary: African nationalism refers to the political ideology that sought to unite Africans in the struggle for independence and self-governance.

The Youth League's influence culminated in the adoption of the Programme of Action in 1949. This document called for more confrontational tactics against the apartheid government, including boycotts, strikes, and civil disobedience.

Definition: The Programme of Action was a policy document that outlined the ANC's new, more militant approach to resisting apartheid.

The period also saw growing unity between various anti-apartheid movements, including collaboration between the ANC and the South African Communist Party. This alliance would prove crucial in the years to come.

The Defiance Campaign and Shift to Mass Action

The adoption of the Programme of Action in 1949 marked a significant shift in the ANC's resistance strategies. This new approach emphasized more confrontational and mass-based tactics to challenge apartheid laws.

Highlight: The Programme of Action of 1949 signaled the ANC's move towards more militant and mass-based resistance strategies.

One of the most significant outcomes of this new approach was the Defiance Campaign of 1952. This campaign was a large-scale, non-violent civil disobedience movement against apartheid laws.

Definition: The Defiance Campaign was a mass civil disobedience movement that involved deliberately breaking apartheid laws to challenge the system.

The campaign involved volunteers deliberately breaking segregation laws and facing arrest. It was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi's passive resistance techniques and aimed to overwhelm the government's capacity to enforce apartheid laws.

Key figures in the ANC, such as Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo, played crucial roles in organizing and leading the Defiance Campaign. This campaign helped to cement the ANC's position as the leading anti-apartheid organization and attracted support from various racial and social classes.

Quote: Nelson Mandela stated, "The Defiance Campaign was the first mass, large-scale, multi-racial political mobilization against apartheid laws under a common leadership."

The campaign also strengthened links between the ANC and other anti-apartheid groups, leading to the formation of the Congress Alliance. This alliance brought together various organizations opposed to apartheid, including the South African Indian Congress and the Coloured People's Congress.

Freedom Charter and Ideological Tensions

The period following the Defiance Campaign saw further developments in the ANC's resistance strategies, culminating in the adoption of the Freedom Charter in 1955.

Definition: The Freedom Charter was a document that outlined the core principles and demands of the anti-apartheid movement, calling for a non-racial, democratic South Africa.

The Freedom Charter was developed through a process of gathering demands and ideas from thousands of people across South Africa. It committed the movement to a vision of a non-racial democracy with equal rights for all.

Quote: The Freedom Charter famously declared, "South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white."

However, this period also saw the emergence of ideological tensions within the anti-apartheid movement. Some members, particularly those aligned with Pan-Africanist ideologies, felt that the ANC's non-racial approach was too accommodating to white interests.

Vocabulary: Pan-Africanism is an ideology that emphasizes the unity of African peoples and the need for African self-reliance.

These tensions eventually led to a split in the movement, with the formation of the Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC) in 1959. The PAC, led by Robert Sobukwe, advocated for a more Africanist approach and criticized the ANC's alliance with non-African groups.

Example: The PAC slogan "Africa for the Africans" contrasted with the ANC's non-racial approach.

Despite these divisions, the period from 1948 to 1959 saw the ANC transform from a relatively small organization into a mass movement capable of mobilizing widespread resistance to apartheid. The strategies developed during this time, including mass civil disobedience and the articulation of a clear vision for a democratic South Africa, would continue to shape the anti-apartheid struggle in the decades to come.