Apartheid in South Africa and how it ended
Grade 10 Social Studies Worksheet - Challenge Me
Circle the best answer.
Read this first
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Cards A to E, summaries in our words, written today, except card C. Card A (protest at home): The ANC adopted a Programme of Action of non-violent protest in 1949 and ran the Defiance Campaign in 1952. Police opened fire on unarmed protesters at Sharpeville on March 21, 1960 (69 lives lost), and the ANC and PAC were outlawed. On June 16, 1976, police opened fire on students marching in Soweto: the official figure was 23 deaths, some reports said at least 200. Card B (pressure abroad): The United Nations led the call for sanctions against South Africa's government, and the US Congress passed the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act in 1986. Card C, two invented readings, made up for this sheet and not from any historian. Reading X: "Apartheid ended mainly because the government lost white support and the economy struggled." Reading Y: "Apartheid ended mainly because of international sanctions." Card D (the Office of the Historian's list): The causes of the end of white minority rule were years of internal protest, weakening white commitment, international economic and cultural sanctions, economic struggles and the end of the Cold War. The list names the causes without ranking them. Card E (the record): De Klerk lifted the ban on the ANC and released political prisoners in February 1990. Mandela, sentenced to life on June 12, 1964, left prison on February 11, 1990, after 27 years. The first democratic election was held on April 27, 1994, and the ANC won about 62 percent.
Card A shows protest from 1949 to 1976, yet apartheid lasted into the 1990s. Ari asks how both can be true.
- Protest was the main cause, and the other four causes merely helped it along
- Decades of protest are too long to have mattered, so card D overstates it
- Protest can be a cause without being enough alone; card D names other causes too
- Protest failed until 1990, so it was not a cause, whatever card D says in its list
Card D lists the end of the Cold War among causes. Card B lists sanctions from 1986. Esme asks what the two cards say about timing.
- Both fit the timeline, but the cards link neither to a decision by the government
- Sanctions explain the end of the Cold War, since they came first and drew attention
- The Cold War's end explains the 1986 Act, since it was the later and larger cause
- Both caused de Klerk's steps in 1990, as card E shows by the dates it gives
Reading X says white support and the economy ended apartheid. Reading Y says sanctions did. Jun asks which cards could support X.
- Card E, which shows the 1994 election as the result of weakened white support
- Card B, which reports the 1986 Act as pressure on the economy and on white voters
- Card A, which shows long protest by the ANC and its allies from 1949 to 1976
- Card D, which lists weakening white commitment and economic struggles
Readings X and Y both say "mainly." Kira asks what a historian would need to show before choosing one over the other.
- That sanctions were passed in 1986, since a law is the strongest evidence
- That one of X and Y must be false, since each says mainly and they differ
- That one cause changed the government's decisions more than the others
- Which cause came first in the timeline, since the first cause is the main one
Card D lists five causes without ranking them. Luz asks what that does to readings X and Y.
- Both are proved, since each names a cause that appears on the list in card D
- Reading Y is favored, since the list was written after sanctions began
- Both are half right, since each names one of the five causes on the list
- Neither is ruled out and neither is shown; both name causes on the list
A student says: "Protest ended apartheid by 1960." Using card A, Milo asks how the claim fares.
- It fails just because the 1994 election came later and settled the matter
- It holds, since the Programme of Action of 1949 won the 1952 campaign
- It fails; card A shows the bans of 1960 and protest again in 1976
- It holds, since Sharpeville was the largest protest and ended the pass laws
A student says: "Mandela's release in 1990 ended apartheid." Using card E, Noah asks how the claim fares.
- It goes too far; card E shows the democratic election four years later, in 1994
- It holds, since de Klerk lifted the ban in the same month
- It holds, since he was freed after 27 years and the 27 years were the apartheid era
- It fails, since sanctions alone ended apartheid in 1986
A student says: "The 62 percent in 1994 shows most South Africans backed the ANC's leaders on every question." Using card E, Pia asks how it fares.
- It holds, since more than half of those who voted chose the ANC's candidates
- It goes beyond the card; a vote share shows who won, not agreement on questions
- It holds, since the ANC went on to govern after the vote, which shows agreement
- It fails, since the first election was in April and the inauguration in May
Card E says Mandela left prison in 1990 after 27 years and was sentenced in 1964. Ren asks what a reader should do with the number 27.
- Treat it as his sentence, since a sentence and time served are the same
- Treat it as time in custody that began before the 1964 sentence
- Add the year to 1994, since he took office four years after the release
- Treat it as an error to be fixed, since 26 years separate 1964 and 1990
Card A gives 69 lives lost at Sharpeville and 23 official deaths at Soweto. Tala asks whether the two counts show which event was worse.
- Yes; Soweto was worse since it came later and drew more attention from the press
- Yes; the official figure is the right one on the card, so Sharpeville was worse
- No; Soweto's reports run to at least 200, so the counts do not compare cleanly
- Yes; 69 is more than 23, so Sharpeville was worse by the numbers the card gives