The 14 years from the adoption of the second constitution witnessed an unprecedented upsurge of industrial development and population increase, in the emerge of an even larger and more urbanised working class and in the rise of registered membership of the organisation. These developments required a change in the minimum number of members required for the formation of a local branch, the introduction of regional branches, elimination of the provincial structure and of the 4 deputy national presidents and on working out a new system of local branch delegations to the national conferences.
In addition there were now 2 new subordinate organisations within the ANC, namely, the ANC Women's League and the ANC Youth League for which the 1943 constitution did not provide. The National Executive accordingly appointed Oliver Tambo to head a committee with representatives from the 4 provinces to draft a new constitution on the lines suggested above. Centralisation was the key principle underlying the draft. But the suggested amendments were fiercely resisted by the membership, espesially the proposed elimination of the provincial structure and opposition was so widespread that we decided to drop this clause.
We began the year 1958 flushed with success and determined to consolidate the gains we had made. The major event facing the country in April that year was the general election in which only 3 million whites would take part and about 12,800,000 excluded. To focus attention on this injustice and to bring to the fore the plight and struggle of the black workers the Congresses joined with
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