Ending Apartheid

Worksheet Description

Nelson Mandela’s imprisonment brought international awareness to apartheid and the people who were fighting against it. In the 1980s, other governments started pressuring the government in South Africa to put an end to apartheid. They stopped doing business with them, which hurt the country economically. As the international pressure to end apartheid increased, so did protests. Finally, the South African government became more lenient with regards to apartheid laws. In the early 1990s, Nelson Mandela was freed. A year later, the president of South Africa, Frederik Willem de Klerk, repealed what was left of apartheid and called for a new constitution. In 1994, South Africa held an election in which people of all colors were eligible to vote. Nelson Mandela, of the African National Congress (ANC) party, won the election, becoming president of South Africa.

What finally ended apartheid?

Why do you think that this worked?