This work breaks new ground by examining twentieth-century black South African politics in the context of the development of state power. The book is a detailed study, based on extensive archival sources, that looks at the changing relationships between black political elites and state bureaucrats and civil servants. It focuses on a number of key issues such as the strike wave after World War One; the 1927 Native Administration Act; the Natives Representative Council and the Alexandra Bus Boycott. The book is a milestone in the unravelling of the complex relations between black political leaders and a white settler-state on the road to implementing apartheid.