Why did the national party win the election in 1948 Flashcards
Three main reasons te national party won the election
Malan taking advantage of general white fear of black people
Impact of WW2
Growth of Afrikaner nationalism and politics after 1910
what is nationalism
Believing that your nation is the best
What is Swart gevaar
White peoples fear of black people
Impact of WW2 causing national party to win
Economy was reliant on black people during the war and when they realised this many went on strikes for better pay. in 1946, 70,000 African mine workers struck for higher wages
There were also protests about the pass system
Causes of WW2 and Growth of nationalism
WW2 was unpopular with the afrikaners. Germans supported the boers during the Boer war. The leader of nationalist party resigned from the coalition in 1939
Mass anti war movement was started. Ossewabrandwag (Ox Wagon Guard) launched by afrikaners and collected 300,000 members. Launched terrorist attacks on the South African army
why was nothing done about apartheid from other countries
Segregation on ethnicity was common in many countries at the time and continued in some countries after the war including America
In the 1948 election how many seats did the national party win
79
in the 1948 election how many seats did the united party win
71
who was the leader of the united party
Jan Smutts
what was the united party called until 2010
the South African party
what did the united party believe in
tried to keep both the boers and the british happy
supported segregation but as he got older he became more liberal
believed in encouraging black people to move to urban areas and work in the mines
beloved they should have a good relationship ship with the Uk
what did the national party believe in
Apartheid
opposed mixing races
opposed south African evolvement in WW2 which gained support from the Afrikaners
how did WW2 impact employment for black people
the need for labour meant that many laws relating to employment of African people were relaxed
125,000 extra workers were employed in manufacturing however only 25% were white
despite African people receiving less pay than white people, what did the white people fear
that there jobs would be taken once the war was over
why did Arfikaans fear Jan Smutts
in a 1942 speech he said that the policy of racial segregation had been a failure for African people showing statistics of African poverty and infant mortality
what did Afrikaans fear would happen under deputy head of united party Jan Hofmeyr
a more moderate race policy
what did Hofmeyr encourage
the education of African people to provide a more skilled workforce and relaxed pass laws in 1942to facilitate employment in urban areas
what efforts did the united party take to help the situation during the war
unemployment insurance schemes, free school meals
and in 1946 a commission to investigate the possibility of national health service with non discrimatory health care system was made although this was never taken further
how did some Afrikaner people support during WW2
actively worked for a Nazi victory by broadcasting and publishing pro Nazi material
problems with the united party
Jan Smuts was old and tired. heavily involved in allied leadership during the war and post war peace settlements
(many SA people felt they were out of touch with the developments of SA)
election campaign lacked lustre and didn’t have many ideas
was weak on race relations which nationalists used to exploit
why did Afrikaners unite under the national party after WW2
didn’t trust English speaking parties
1938 Voortrekker monument celebrating the battle of blood river was built giving a sense of Afrikaner identity
Afrikaner finance concerns were set up to help them start their own businesses
the dutch reformed church provided schools and cultural activities to develop pride in Afrikaner identity
what was the united parties segregation policy
should be an influx of African people into white areas for employment
although they should live in strictly segregated and regulated communities
what was the national parties apartheid policy
separation of the races as far as possible
African people should only be allowed in SA as guest workers and otherwise be confined to reserves (plan hadn’t been thought out yet)
what was the international response to the national party victory
to was muted
countries such as Britain and France still had empires where the indigenous people where viewed as subservient
South Africa was also surrounded by pliant neighbours
(however criticisms did grow over time as anticolonial movements developed
which country first issued a complaint against apartheid
india as it was worried about the treatedment of the Indian people that moved there
why wasn’t anything done in the UN about apartheid
USA was a very influential part and they supported South Africa as they were a reliable ally against the growth of communism
what did the national part promote to the white workers
black threat \
Swart gevaar \
jobs law and order and housing
shocked by the black protests
ossewabrandwag
300,000 members
terorrist group that attacked the SA Army and celebrated African culture
1946 mine protests
black people realised the economy was reliant on them and 70,000 struck for higher wages
what was the laager mentality
Afrikans felt resentful about being controlled by the british
they had laager mentality which means they are not willing to accept new ideas
what was the group called broaderbond
organisation providing direction for Afrikaner movement
promoted that afrikaners were Volk a different kind of people from the rest of SA
these views were supported by the dutch calvinist churches
