What led to independence for Ghana?

Article I of the United Nations Charter (1945) asserted the principle of “equal rights and self-determination of peoples.” The UN Declaration of Human Rights (1948) emphasized this principle. The British Colonial Office issued the Local Government Despatch in February The dispatch outlined a new policy on colonial government—the abandonment of indirect rule of Africans through traditional institutions and the development of local government modeled on the British example. The Caine Committee in May 1947 recommended that Britain consciously plan the political, economic, educational, and social development of the African colonies so that there could be a smooth transition of power “within a generation.”

On 28 February 1948 riots broke out in Accra (Gold Coast) after a white police officer fired on protesters, killing two and injuring four. (The protestors were African ex- servicemen who marched on the governor’s mansion demanding their unpaid war bonuses) Over the next two weeks 29 people were killed, 237 injured, and the trading quarter of Accra destroyed by looters and arsonists. Protestors and rioters in Accra voiced the following complaints: – European firms, which dominated trade, were exploiting postwar shortages to make excessive profits. – Many ex-servicemen who had invested their savings in trucks were losing their livelihood because of high interest rates and the rising costs of spares. – High unemployment – Inflation

Kwame Nkruma, the General Secretary of the United Gold Coast Convention, flew from London to the Gold Coast in December Nkruma was arrested in March of 1948, and police discovered his British Communist Party membership card. After the riots the Convention (UGCC) cabled the world’s press to publicize demands for self-government. Nkruma sent telegrams to the Pan Africa magazine, the New York Times, and the Moscow New Times calling for immediate self-government. When Nkruma was arrested he had in his possession a plan for a secret organization of devoted followers (with secret signs and monthly days of fasting) whose ultimate aim was a union of African socialist republics. Sir Gerald Creasy was appointed governor of the Gold Coast one month before the Accra riots. He was promoted from a desk job in London and had no practical experience of African politics. Communists seized power in Czechoslovakia a few days before the Accra riots began.

Two British Commissions endorsed plans in 1949 to move the gold Coast toward self-government. A new constitution would provide for a national assembly and an executive of eight African ministers. In June of 1949 Nkruma launched the Convention People’s Party (CPP) with the slogan “Self-Government Now”. He promised Ghandian “positive action” and called for a general strike in January It failed in the face of well-organized police. In February 1951 Nkruma’s CPP won 34 of 38 seats in the new national assembly (established by the new constitution denounced by Nkruma). Nkruma was invited by the governor to serve as Leader of Government. Nkruma and the CPP engaged in no further “positive action” (non- violent protest) once he was appointed Leader of Government. Nkruma was allowed to take the title “prime minister” in In 1954 Nkruma’s government banned communist literature, excluded communists sympathizers from government, police, and education, and limited travel to communist countries. After Nkruma won another election in 1954, Britain set 1956 as a target date for full self-government.

The National Liberation Movement, led by Ashanti farmers angered that they enjoyed too little of cocoa profits, agitated for a federation to replace the Gold Coast (the government of the colony would be replaced by cooperation of several semi- independent regions of the Gold Coast) In the 1956 elections 57% of Gold Coast voters chose the CCP. By voting for this large colony-wide party, voters chose the path of independence for the Gold Coast. Voting for smaller, regionally-based parties would have likely delayed self-rule and led to the creation of a federation.