Answer:
option (d) is the correct answer.
The government, led by the National Party and its policy of apartheid, sought to suppress dissent and maintain the racial segregation system. In response to the growing activism of the ANC, which was advocating for equal rights and an end to apartheid, the government introduced new legislation to curtail their activities.
One significant piece of legislation enacted during this period was the Suppression of Communism Act of 1950. This law aimed to suppress any political activities deemed subversive or threatening to the government, particularly those associated with the ANC and its allies. It granted the government broad powers to ban political organizations, restrict freedom of speech and assembly, and detain individuals without trial.
This restrictive legislation was part of the government's overall strategy to stifle opposition and maintain control over the majority Black population. It marked the beginning of a long history of state repression and persecution against anti-apartheid activists, which continued for several decades.
The other options listed in your question are not accurate in the context of the early 1950s:
Option (a), issuing new, more powerful weapons to police departments, was not a specific response to the ANC protests in the early 1950s.
Option (b), requiring all anti-apartheid activists to live in the bantustans, was a policy implemented in later years to forcibly relocate Black South Africans to designated homelands, but it was not a direct response to the ANC protests of the early 1950s.
Option (c), sentencing Nelson Mandela to life in prison, happened in 1964 after the Rivonia Trial and was not a direct response to the protests of the early 1950s.
Step-by-step explanation:
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