Reasons for National Party Victory (1948)

Question 1

Who was Malan?

Answer 1

The national party prime minister who introduced apartheid.

Question 2

How many seats did the National Party and United Party receive?

Answer 2

National = 79
United = 71

Question 3

How many extra employees were needed in manufacturing during the war years?

Answer 3

125,000

Question 4

What percentage of war manufacturing workers were white?

Answer 4

25%

Question 5

Who was Jan Smuts?

Answer 5

Formal Boer general and Prime minister who led the United Party.

Question 6

What was Smuts proposal for segregation?

Answer 6

He believed that segregation had been a failure for South Africa and that the country could become much stronger if there was more intergration.

Question 7

Who was deputy prime minister for Smuts?

Answer 7

Hofmeyr

Question 8

What did Hofmeyr propose?

Answer 8

The improved education of Africans to provide a more skilled workforce and relaxed pass laws for more employment in urban areas.

Question 9

What 2 policies did Smuts introduce?

Answer 9

Free school meals and unemployment insurance

Question 10

What did Smuts propose in 1946?

Answer 10

A non-discriminatory national health service

Question 11

How many South African men joined the army in WW2?

Answer 11

180,000 (half the men of military age)

Question 12

What was the Voortrek monument and when was it built?

Answer 12

1938, monument celebrating the centenary of the Battle of Blood River which created a sense of Afrikaner identity.

Question 13

What percentage of the popular vote did each party earn?

Answer 13

National = 40%
United = 50%

Question 14

How much more weighting were rural constituencies given than urban?

Answer 14

15% more

Question 15

Which party did rural constituencies vote for?

Answer 15

National

Question 16

What was the security council?

Answer 16

The executive of the UN, responsible for peacekeeping.

Question 17

What were some problems faced by the United Party during the 1948 election?

Answer 17

• Jan Smuts, leader of the party, was old and tired and he had been heavily involved with international affairs both during the war and during post-war peace settlements so some people felt that he was out of touch with SA developments.
• The election campaign lacked lustre and seemed empty of new ideas.
• The party seemed to have weak ideas and policies on race relations, which the national party were able to exploit to good effect which helped them to win English speaking voters over the UP.
• The idea of allowing Africans to live in white areas and to form a more integrated society was not popular amongst many white voters who didn’t want to risk their jobs and superiority.

Question 18

Why did the Afrikaaners unite under the NP after WW2?

Answer 18

• They did not trust English speakers.
• In 1938, a sense of Afrikaaner identity was formed by the Voortrekker movement when they celebrated the centenary of the Battle of Blood River.
• Afrikaaner finance concerns were set up by the party to help Afrikaners to start their own business.
• The Dutch Reform Church provided Afrikaner schools and cultural activities to develop a sense of Akrikaner pride and identity.
• The idea of Apartheid guaranteed Afrikaaner prosperity and secured their position in society.

Question 19

What was the description of communism within SA?

Answer 19

The idea that those who were opposed to the government were communist as race was more important than the contribution of a person to society.