Nelson Mandela's Defiance Report

The government proposed a law that was a response of the efforts being pushed by Nelson Mandela and others called the Public Safety Act of 1953. The law “empowered the government to declare stringent states of emergency and increased penalties for protesting against or supporting the repeal of a law” (Suzman). The penalties included imprisonment, fines, and whippings., Nelson Mandela, one of the most notable protestors of the apartheid was detained for several reasons when he was politically active during the apartheid. His Defiance Campaign was a non-violent campaign that publicly opposed apartheid legislation. Because of the passing of the law, 8,057 members of the campaign had been arrested (South African History Online). While those penalties