No Easy Walk to Freedom

At several points in the text, Mandela discusses government policy by juxtaposing the government’s purported aims with the policies’ true intentions. Explain how Mandela uncovers and articulates the policies’ intended effects and discuss what they reveal about the government’s commitment to white supremacy.

The text makes clear the relationship(s) between the ANC and several other political parties and organizations. Discuss those relationships and what they reveal about the ANC’s political strategies, tactics, and ideals.

Explain why targeting the South African economy was an effective strategy for defeating the Nationalist government and how Mandela expresses that strategy throughout the text.

According to the text, how did government tactics contribute to the shifts in strategy that the ANC (and allied parties and organizations) implemented in the resistance struggle?

Throughout the text, Mandela emphasizes that political leaders and organizations must be responsive to and realistic about concrete conditions and the concerns of the masses. Using examples from the text, explain how Mandela and the ANC exhibited such responsiveness in the measures, resolutions, and strategies they chose to adopt.

In the Pretoria Trial and the Rivonia Trial, Mandela chose to conduct his own defense arguments. Why did he make such a choice?

The ANC’s relationship to the Communist Party is a significant feature of Mandela’s discussions throughout the text. What was the nature of that relationship, and what does it communicate about the views of the ANC and Mandela’s personal political outlook?

Discuss influences from Mandela’s early life and education, as well as his legal career, that contributed to his political outlook.