Nelson Mandella

In his years of being held captive in prison, Nelson Mandela remained authoritative and significant in his issues and goals. Because of his opposition towards the minorities in his domestic country, he endured twenty-seven vile years in prison. Although Mandela may have changed his beliefs, his supporters stayed, psychologically, by his side. Because his followers kept on encouraging Mandela, he was a notorious man, above all, after his release.

Powerful Mandela was born to Chief Henry Mandela of the Tembu Tribe on July 18, 1918 in Umtata, Transkei. The capitol of Transkei, his place of birth is found in South Africa. His name was not always Nelson; ironically his prior name rightfully meant “troublesome.” Oddly enough, a primary school teacher suggested the new name to him. His childhood was serene and undisturbed. Most of Mandela’s time was spent herding cattle and doing other everyday duties. However, this peace was shook with the death of his beloved father. He was then left in the care of an acting regent of the Tembu people.

Aside from his sound childhood, Mandela was also a very educated man. He spent time in the missionary University of Fort Hare and at the University of Witwatersrand. There he spent much of his time contradicting the need for white ruling in this particular institution. In 1942, he obtained his degree in law. Because of the need he felt to abscond his guardian to flee from an arranged marriage, and perhaps to also escape for the sake of his independence, Mandela set off to Johannesburg.

Mandela was active in the Youth League of the African National Congress (ANC) in 1944, and later became the league’s president in 1951. He also became occupied in the programs of inactive hostility against certain laws that forced Africans to keep passes and also kept them as prisoners. However, these actions would soon revisit him to send him into almost three decades of distress. In 1952, the African National Congress staged an act where fellow campaigners across the country refused to comply with indifferent laws. The act that was staged is known as the Defiance Campaign. Mandela evolved into one of the ANC’s more active members, and eventually got boosted up to a deputy president. In addition to this, Mandela and his companion, Oliver Tambo, opened a law practice in South Africa. Because of the apprehension of the ANC being officially illegal, they devised yet another plan. This plan, called the “M” plan, grouped the members to help others deal with outsiders’ harsh comments and opinions.

The government became frustrated with the African National Congress and conducted a cumbersome trial against the organizations most active members. Among those active members was indeed Mandela himself. Although Mandela was involved in the argument of setting up a military wing in the African National Congress in 1961, Umkhonto we Sizwe, became the commander-in-chief, and went in to training, he was arrested back in South Africa for incitement and leaving the country illegally in 1962. Mandela received a sentence of five years with hard manual labor. Shortly thereafter, the remainder of the African National Congress and the Umkhonto we Sizwe were arrested by 1963. He sustained this imprisonment on Robben Island. Mandela, speaking from internal pain said, "During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to the struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the