THE UNITED GOLD COAST CONVENTION

(UGCC).
1.The United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) was the first
Political Party formed which was inaugurated on 4th August
1947 at Saltpond.
2.The party had its motto as ''Self government within the
shortest possible time''.
3.The party was formed by George Paa Grant (chairman),
Joseph Boakye Danquah, R. S.Blay (vice chairman),
R.A.Awoonor Williams (Teasurer), Edward Akuffo Addo,
William Ofori Atta, Kobena Kessie, J.W. de Graft Johnson,
Emmanuel Obetsebi Lamptey, Arko Adjei.
4.Later Dr.Kwame Nkrumah was introduced into the party by
the recommendations of Arko Adjei. He became the first
General Secretary of the party.
ACHEIVEMENTS OF THE UGCC.
1.The UGCC was the first Political Party to introduce Party
Politics which brought political leaders together to fight
against colonial rule.
2.The UGCC established a newspaper known as the ''Talking
Drum'' as the official mouthpiece of the people and other
political education.
3.The party educated the people on the need to gain
independence from the colonial government by opposing
British rule.
4.The UGCC brought Dr. Kwame Nkrumah to Ghana to take
part in the independence struggle who later accelerated the
push for self rule.
5.The leaders of UGCC played a permanent role in the
drafting of the 1951 Arden Clark's Constitution.
6.The leaders of the UGCC especially J.B Danquah , first
recommended the name ''Ghana'' to replace the name
''Gold Coast'' at independence .
7.Leaders of UGCC used peaceful and gradual approach to
ask for self government.

REASONS FOR THE FORMATION OF THE

CPP / WHY NKRUMAH BROKE FROM UGCC.
1. Kwame Nkrumah was excluded from the Coussey
Commitee(1949) which was set up to work on the suggestion
of Watson Comission(1948).
2. Nkrumah and the members of the UGCC had different
ideas on how to fight for independence or self government .
3. The leaders of the UGCC were seen as snobbish and
elitist. The youth of the Gold Coast therefore urged Nkrumah
to break away from the UGCC.
4. The leaders of the UGCC did not like the speeches
Nkrumah made at public rallies . He was therefore stopped
from organising rallies.
5.The executives of the UGCC refused to re-instate Kwame
Nkrumah after he was suspended.

THE ACHIEVEMENT OF KWAME NKRUMAH

AND THE CPP.
1.EDUCATION:
a.The CPP government made primary education free and
compulsory .
b. They set up the Ghana Education Trust (GET) which built
many secondary schools in Ghana. (they are called GET
schools.
c. They set up the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science
and Technology (K.N.U.S.T), University of Cape Coast to
provide higher education.
2.HEALTH SERVICES:
a.Nkrumah and the CPP built new hospitals and health centers
including Okomfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (OATH).
b.They established more nurses training colleges.
c.They established the Ghana Medical School to train doctors.
3.HOUSING :
The CPP set up the State Housing Corporation to build many
houses for workers in the big towns in Ghana.
4.INFRASTRUCTURE:
The infrastructural projects include
i. Accra- Tema Motorway.
ii. Tema Harbour.
iii. Adomi Bridge.
iv. Akosombo Hydro-Electric Dam.
5.INDUSTRIES:
Kwame Nkrumah and the CPP built many factories in Ghana.
Examples are;
 Aboso Glass Factory.
 Pwalugu Tomato Factory .
 Esiama Oil Mills.
 Nsawam Cannery.
 Kumasi Shoe Factory.
 Kumasi Jute Factory.
 Bolgatanga Meat Factory.
6. POLITICAL:
i. Nkrumah and the C.P.P won independence for Ghana.
ii. Kwame Nkrumah contributed immensely to the formation
of the organization of African Union.
 THE FALL OF KWAME NKRUMAH AND THE
CONVENTION PEOPLE'S PARTY (CPP).
1.The C.P.P. Government passed the Preventive Detentive
Act (P.D.A) which was used to punish his opponents . Eg.
This law was used to detain J.B.Danquah and Obetsebi
Lamptey who later died in (Nsawam) prison. This law made
the CPP Government very unpopular.
2. The dismissal of the chief Justice Sir Aku Korsah over the
trial of Tawia Adamafio and Ako Adjei was seen as a throat
on the Judiciary.
3. He spent a lot of Ghana's money to promote African Unity
and also to support African Countries who were fighting for
their independence .This created serious problems for the
country's economy.
4. Nkrumah and the CPP Government created a special army
called ''The President's own guard Regiment''(T.P.O.G.R).The
soldiers of this army enjoyed better salaries than those of the
regular army.
5. In 1964, Nkrumah and the CPP declared Ghana a one-
party state . This made the people particularly other political
parties very unhappy.
6.Nkrumah concerned himself more with foreign matters
instead of concentrating on solving problems of Ghana.
 CAUSES OF THE 1948 RIOTS

1. After the second world war, there was shortage of goods

and rapid increase in the prices of manufactured items.
2. Foreigners such as Europeans and Labanese took control
of petty trading in the Gold Coast.
3. The swollen shoot disease and the cutting down of
affected cocoa trees made cocoa farmers very angry.
4. There were no jobs for school leavers. This made the
school leavers and their parents very angry.
5. More people moved from the rural areas to the big towns
and cities which created housing problems.
6. The educated elites did not like Burn's Constitution of
1946 because it did not give more powers to the Ghanaians.
7. The colonial government failed to pay the pension of the
Ex - Servicemen/Veterans after returning from the Second
world war.
8. The introduction of conditional sales by European and
Labanese shops made life difficult for Ghanaians.
9.The immediate cause of the riots was the killing of three
ex-servicemen:
 (Sergant Adjetey,
 Corporal Attipoe
 Private Odartey Lamptey) as they marched to present
a petition to the governor at the Osu Castle.
 EFFECTS OF THE 1948 RIOTS.
1. The 1948 riots showed that Ghanaians were fed up with
colonial rule.
2. The riots increased the level of political awareness among
Ghanaians.
3. The riots led to the arrest of six (6) members of the
U.G.C.C. who later known as the '' Big Six ''.
4. The riots led to the formation of the Watson Commission
whish gave birth to the Coussey Committee.
5.The riots caused twenty-nine (29) deaths and injuries to two
hundred and thirty-seven(237) people.
6. The riots discouraged foreign investors from investing in
the Gold Coast.
THE WATSON COMMISSION.
After the 1948 riots, the British government sent a group of
men to the Gold Coast to investigate the causes of the riots
and also make recommendations .This group was led by Sir
Aiken Watson.
RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE WATSON
COMMISSION.
1. The commission recommended that changes be made in the
Burn's Commission of 1946.
2.The commission recommended that more school especially
secondary schools should be established in the Gold Coast.
3.The commission again recommended that Ghanaians
should be made happy at their various workplaces.
4. The commission recommended that the grievances of the
Ex-Servicemen should be addressed.
5. Lastly, the commission recommended that the legislative
council should be enlarged with more Ghanaians in it.

THE CUOSSEY COMMITEE.-

ITS SUGGESTIONS.
1. The committee recommended that Ghana be divided into
four regions namely Southern Ghana, Asante, Trans Volta
Togoland and Northen Territories. ( note very well).
2. The Committee suggested that there should be two houses
of the Legislative ie. Upper House and Lower House.
3. The Committee fixed the voting age at 25.
4. The Committee suggested that changes be made to improve
local and original councils.
5. Again , it suggested that more Ghanaians should serve on
the executive council of the Gold Coast.
6. The Committee suggested that a new constitution should
be drawn up.
 THE 1951 GENERAL ELECTIONS.
The first general elections in the Gold Coast were held on
8th February, 1951. Two main political parties which
contested for seats were the UGCC and the CPP . The total
number of seats in the legislative council was 84. The number
of seats to be contested for was 38.
The result of the Elections were as follows:
CPP- 34 Seats
UGCC- 3 Seats
INDEPENDENT- 1 Seat
TOTAL SEATS = 38.
After the elections, the Governor General, Sir Charles Noble
Arden-Clarke released Nkrumah and the other CPP leaders
from prison . Nkrumah was asked to form a Government and
become leader of Government Business. ( a Prime
Minister and not a President)
REASONS WHY THE CPP WON THE
ELECTIONS.
1. Nkrumah was a charismatic and charming leader who
was also very popular.
2. The reduction of the voting age from 25 to 21gave many
young people opportunity to support the CPP and gave them
the chance to vote .
3. The motto of the CPP ''Self Government Now'' was more
appealing to the people.
4. The CPP was a better organised political party than the
UGCC. It had offices throughout the country .
5. The imprisonment of the CPP leaders made them heroes in
the eyes of the people.
SOME IMPORTANT HISTORICAL FACTS TO
NOTE.
1. The British police officer who shot and killed the three Ex-
Servicemen was called Major Imray.
2. The Governor at the time of the 1948 riots was Sir Gerald
Creasy.
3. The first Governor-General of the Gold Coast
(independent Ghana) was Sir Charles Noble Arden
Clarke.
4. Positive action was declared in the Gold Coast on 9th
January, 1951 by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah
5.Ghana attained internal self government in the year 1951.
6. The General Elections in the Gold Coast were held on 8th
February ,1951.
7.Nii Kwabena Bonney III, Osu Mantse organised a boycott
of European shops after the 28th February shooting.
8. The Trans Volta Togoland Plebiscite was organised on 9th
May 1956.
9. The last governor general of the Gold Coast was Lord
Listowel.
10.The head of state of Ghana until 1st July, 1960 was the
queen of Britain (Queen Elizabeth II)
11. The CPP government was overthrown on 24th February,
1966. ( first coup d'etat in the history of Ghana)
12. The Coussey Committee was set up in the year 1949.
13. The head of the Coussey Commitee was Justice Henley
Coussey.
14. The shooting of the veterans at the christianborg
crossroads took place on 28th February, 1948.