“The segregation and discrimination policies of Smuts and Hertzog achieved their aims.” Discuss.

Candidates should have a clear understanding of the policies of Smuts and Hertzog so that they can offer a review of the extent to which the aims of segregationist laws were met. They may look at their overall impact of discriminatory policy as well as examining specific areas of segregation that legislation was designed to achieve. Candidates may draw a distinction between the two leaders: broadly speaking, the policies of Hertzog were more discriminatory than those of Smuts, even though the two shared power for some of the segregationist period.

Indicative content

• Candidates may examine political segregation, which was brought about through the systematic exclusion from the political process of South Africa’s non-White citizens. The small minority of black voters who were entitled to vote in the Cape were finally removed from the ballot in 1936. However a small number of Coloured voters remained enfranchised in that province.
• The government aimed to bring about segregation in employment through the entrenchment of the so-called “colour bar”. The Mines and Works Act of 1911 meant that skilled and semi-skilled positions in mining and industry were reserved exclusively for white workers. While the post-war Smuts government attempted to relax this legislation, leading to the Rand Rebellion of 1922, Hertzog’s “civilized labour” policy imposed a strict colour bar across the economy.
• Urban residential segregation was enforced through the establishment of separate urban areas for “natives” under the Native (Urban Areas) Act of 1923. This act also restricted the access of blacks to other urban areas through the extension of the passbook system. However, the existence of so-called “black spots” in many cities meant that complete residential separation was not achieved. However, it could be argued that this was never an explicit ambition of the government, especially after the appointment of the Fagan Commission in 1946.
• Rural residential segregation was enforced under the Land Act of 1913, which designated 7 per cent of the total area of the country (extended to 13 per cent in 1936) for the exclusive use of Africans. These were the only areas where black people could enjoy the right to own land and reside permanently.
• Sexual segregation was promoted with the Immorality Act of 1927, which forbade all extra-marital sexual relations between races. However, this did not prevent miscegenation as couples from different races could continue to marry.
• Legislation also provided for the segregation of amenities, provided that these were of an equal standard for all racial groups.
• Candidates may refer to how discrimination led to the deprivation and impoverishment of millions of non-white South Africans who were denied well-paying jobs. Many were also confined to squalid informal settlements on the edges of the major cities, or to the overcrowded native reserves. It could be argued that this conflicted with one of the key aims of government, which is to provide for the welfare of all of its citizens.
• Candidates may also refer to some of the wider consequences of discrimination, such as the emergence of black political parties, with the South African Native National Congress (SANNC), which later became the African National Congress (ANC), and the Industrial and Commercial Workers’ Union (ICU) providing a focus for internal opposition to the government.

The above material is an indication of what candidates may elect to write about in their responses. However, the list is not exhaustive and no set answer is required.

Examiners and moderators are reminded of the need to apply the markbands that provide the “best fit” to the responses given by candidates and to award credit wherever it is possible to do so.

[20 marks]