1948 Election

Question 1

What was the result of the 1948 election?

Answer 1

• Nationalist party victory led by Malan
• The grand old man of SA politics, Smuts, was defeated
• Surprising result so the Nationalist Party was caught without a plan for the apartheid system it had promised its supporters
• Narrow victory

Question 2

How did job losses contribute to the nationalist victory?

Answer 2

• Fear of unemployment was a major reason
• WW2 labour demand led to the relaxation of employment and settlement laws
• Whites feared for their jobs and status in peacetime, did not want social equality

Question 3

How did the post-war atmosphere contribute to the nationalist victory?

Answer 3

• Nationalist party policy on race contrasted with United party
• Smuts favoured continuing wartime relaxation where black workers were allowed into white areas to fill job vacancies
• Alarmed many white voters, who were attracted to Nationalist party’s simple electoral slogan ‘Apartheid’ (separateness)
• More effective campaigning

Question 4

How did the electoral system contribute to the nationalist victory?

Answer 4

• 15% more weighting to rural constituencies than the urban ones
• Most nationalist party supporters lived in the countryside

Question 5

How did the character of Smuts contribute to the nationalist victory?

Answer 5

• Many believed that 75 year old Smuts was out of touch and a traitor to his race (after being attracted to the Nazi racial policy)
• Loyal older generation voters who saw his remarkable achievements had died out