United Gold Coast Convention

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United Gold Coast Convention
Leader George Alfred Grant
Secretary Kwame Nkrumah
Spokesperson Kwame Nkrumah
Founder George Alfred Grant
Founded4 August 1947
Dissolved1952
Merged into Ghana Congress Party
Headquarters Accra
Ideology Conservatism [1] [2] Nationalism
Political position Centre-right [1]
1951 elections 3

The United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) was an early nationalist movement British colony of the Gold Coast (present-day Ghana) that sought independence after the Second World War. [3] [4] It was founded in August 1947 with the aim of self-government "in the shortest possible time" by educated Africans such as J.B. Danquah, A.G. Grant, R.A. Awoonor-Williams, Edward Akufo Addo (all lawyers except for Grant, who was a wealthy businessman), and others. The leadership of the organization called for the replacement of Chiefs on the Legislative Council with educated persons. The United Gold Coast Convention appointed its leaders to include Kwame Nkrumah, who was the Secretary General. However, upon an allegation ofplans against Nkrumah's leadership, he was arrested and jailed. [5] The UGCC leadership broke up and Kwame Nkrumah went on a separate way to set up the Convention People's Party (CPP) for the purpose of self-governance. [6]

Contents

History

In the 1940s, African merchants, such as George Alfred Grant ("Paa Grant"), were ready to finance the organization of a political movement to assure their commercial interests in the face of unfair colonial practices. The party was founded by George Alfred Grant on 4 August 1947 by a combination of chiefs, academics and lawyers, [7] including R. A. Awoonor-Williams, Robert Samuel Blay, Edward Akufo-Addo, and Emmanuel Obetsebi-Lamptey. [8]

On 10 December 1947, Kwame Nkrumah returned to the Gold Coast, accepting Danquah's invitation to become the UGCC General Secretary. Big Six member Ebenezer Ako-Adjei recommended inviting Nkrumah, whom he had met at Lincoln University. [6] Nkrumah was offered a salary of £250, and Paa Grant paid the boat fare from Liverpool in England to the Gold Coast. [9] Danquah and Nkrumah subsequently disagreed over the direction of the independence movement. [10] Nkrumah went on to form the Convention People's Party (CPP) in 1949 and eventually became the first president of independent Ghana. [10] There was a meeting between Nkrumah and members of the party which occurred in Saltpond, a town in Central region. It was said Nkrumah rejected a proposal for the promotion of fundamental human rights. [11]

The UGCC performed poorly in the 1951 elections, winning only three seats. The following year, it merged with the National Democratic Party and disaffected members of the CPP, to form the Ghana Congress Party. [12] [13]

Parliamentary elections

ElectionNumber of UGCC votesShare of votesSeats+/-PositionOutcome of election
1951 6,33736.81%32ndMinority in parliament [14] [15]

Three party members won seats in the election, including J. B. Danquah for Akim Abuakwa Central and William Ofori Atta, Principal of the Abuakwa State College, for Akim Abuakwa West, both in the Eastern Province. [16] The third was Gerald Otoo Awuma for Akpini-Asogli in the Trans-Volta Togoland. [17]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Aubynn, Anthony Kwesi (2002). "Behind the Transparent Ballot Box: The Significance of the 1990s Elections in Ghana". Multi-Party Elections in Africa. James Currey. p. 77.
  2. ↑ Firmin-Sellers, Kathryn (1999). "The Concentration of Authority: Constitutional Creation in the Gold Coast, 1950". Polycentric Governance and Development. University of Michigan Press. p. 191.
  3. ↑ "'Allah Might Provide the Fuel': Muslim Sailors in British Colonial Navies, from the Second World War to Independence" . Combatants of Muslim Origin in European Armies in the Twentieth Century: Far from Jihad. Bloomsbury Academic. 2017. doi:10.5040/9781474249454.ch-009. ISBN   978-1-4742-4945-4 . Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  4. ↑ "The Politics of the Independence Movements". www.ghanaweb.com. Retrieved 2024-03-06.
  5. ↑ "Nkrumah, Dr Kwame (21 Sept. 1909–27 April 1972)". Who Was Who. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2007. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u158013 . Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  6. 1 2 SECRETARY OF THE UGCC. Sub-Saharan Publishers. 15 November 2007. pp. 52–72. doi:10.2307/j.ctvk3gm60.9. ISBN   978-9988-647-81-0 . Retrieved 22 August 2020.{{cite book}}: |journal= ignored (help)
  7. ↑ Birmingham, David, Kwame Nkrumah: The Father of African Nationalism (revised edition), Ohio University Press, 1998, p. 13.
  8. ↑ "Ghana pays tribute to founders' - Graphic Online". www.graphic.com.gh. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  9. ↑ Birmingham, David, Kwame Nkrumah: The Father of African Nationalism (revised edition), Ohio University Press, 1998.
  10. 1 2 Becker, Adam H.; Reed, Annette Yoshiko (2020). The Ways that Never Parted. doi:10.1628/978-3-16-158695-8. ISBN   9783161586958. S2CID   219810031.
  11. ↑ "Sekou Nkrumah Fights Oquaye Over Founders' Day". DailyGuide Network. 6 August 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  12. ↑ "The Gold Coast on trial: parties and personalities of the new order". The Times. 4 June 1951.
  13. ↑ "Policy of new Gold Coast party". The Times. 6 May 1952.
  14. ↑ Dolf Sternberger, Bernhard Vogel, Dieter Nohlen & Klaus Landfried (1969) Die Wahl der Parlamente: Band II: Afrika, Erster Halbband, pp783-784
  15. ↑ Janda, K. (1980) Political Parties: A Cross-National Survey New York: The Free Press
  16. ↑ Dokosi, Michael. "The electoral victories and shock losses of the 1954 Gold Coast election". BlakkPepper.com. Retrieved 1 July 2025.
  17. ↑ Bob-Milliar, George (October 2014). "Verandah Boys versus 'Reactionary Lawyers': Nationalist Activism in Ghana, 1946–1956". The International Journal of African Historical Studies. 47 (2): 301. Retrieved 1 July 2025.


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