Answer to Question #267359 in History for Kelsey Jand

Question

Read, highlight, and comment on the following excerpt:

We felt that without violence there would be no way open to the African people to succeed in their struggle against the principle of white supremacy. We chose to defy the law. We first broke the law in a way which avoided any recourse to violence; when this form was legislated against, and then the Government resorted to a show of force to crush opposition to its policies, only then did we decide to answer violence with violence.

Answer 1

This the second Nelson Mandela's most famous speeches. He was fighting for equality and ultimately helped topple South Africa's racist system of apartheid. Mandela addresses the long struggle for democracy in South Africa and his beliefs about humanity. The purpose behind his speech was to acknowledge that the black and white audience should move away from the taunting past and reconcile so they would be able to unify in the future.