Question

this is nelson mandelas speech at his trial before he was sentenced to life in prison:\but the hard facts were that 50 years of non-violence had brought the african people nothing but more and more repressive legislation, and fewer and fewer rights... it may not be easy for this court to understand, but it is a fact that for a long time, the people had been talking of violence- of the day when they would fight the white man and win back their country; and we, the leaders of the a.n.c., had nevertheless always prevailed upon them to avoid violence and to pursue peaceful methods.it must not be forgotten that by this time violence had, in fact, become a feature of the south african political scene. how many more sharpevilles would there be in the history of our country?.. we felt it our duty to make preparations as a long-term undertaking to use force in order to defend ourselves against force.at the beginning of june, 1961, after a long and anxious assessment of the south african situation, i and some colleagues, came to the conclusion that as violence in the country was inevitable, it would be unrealistic and wrong for african leaders to continue preaching peace and non-violence at a time when the government met our peaceful demands with force.continue on to the next pagetopic3 in 7 words or less, what is this document about?3 main ideas:what are the 3 most important ideas from the reading?123

Explanation:

1. The document's core subject is Nelson Mandela's justifications for shifting from non-violent protest to considering armed resistance in apartheid South Africa, taken from his trial speech.
2. First key idea: 50 years of non-violent action only brought more repressive laws and lost rights for Black South Africans, despite the ANC's long commitment to peace.
3. Second key idea: By 1961, Mandela and colleagues concluded that continued non-violent protest was unrealistic, as violence in the country had become inevitable due to government repression.
4. Third key idea: The ANC began preparing for defensive force as a long-term measure, after exhausting peaceful methods that failed to bring change.

Answer:

TOPIC:

Mandela's trial speech on armed resistance

3 MAIN IDEAS:

1. 50 years of non-violence brought only repression.
2. 1961 assessment: non-violence was no longer realistic.
3. ANC prepared defensive force as a last resort.