ABSTRACT
This chapter examines three critical stages in the evolving US engagement with South Africa: The first begins with the 1867 discovery of diamonds in Kimberly and ends with the Boer War in 1902. The second originates in the postwar unification of South Africa and concludes with the depression of the late 1920s. The third stage starts with the 1930s rejuvenation of the American-South African connection and lasts until political tensions associated with the ruling National Party’s 1960 efforts to solidify the apartheid system drew international condemnation. Understanding anti-apartheid activism from 1960 to 1987 requires an analysis of US-South African relations that addresses the domestic and international contexts that endowed these relations, the power and values derived from mutual exchanges, and the opportunities and vulnerabilities that confronted the participants as the relationship evolved. The chapter concludes with an assessment of two early anti-apartheid organizations, the Council on African Affairs and Americans for South African Resistance.
