WASSCE SHS
Nationalism is the demand that a people govern themselves. In the Gold Coast that demand became a mass movement, and independence followed in 1957.
Early protest was led by educated men. The Aborigines' Rights Protection Society fought land bills that would have put land under colonial control. The National Congress of British West Africa asked for elected members in the colonial councils. After the Second World War the United Gold Coast Convention brought those leaders together. In 1948 a boycott of imported goods, the shooting of former soldiers at the Christiansborg crossroads, and the riots that followed pulled ordinary people into the movement. Kwame Nkrumah split from the Convention and formed the Convention People's Party, which organised workers and farmers, won elections, and led the country to independence on 6 March 1957.
Marks come from a sequence, not from a single name. A causes question wants more than "Nkrumah". Mention the war, the events of 1948, the parties, and the elections. The 1951 election matters because the party won while its leader was in prison, and he came out to head the government. Dates you are sure of are worth giving. If you only remember the year of independence, give that year and spend the rest of the answer on the causes. A slogan is not a cause.
The History tips guide sets out the papers, how to build a point with an example, and the mistakes that cost marks. WASSCE History tips
Order the events. 1948 comes before the party split, and the elections come before independence. The United Gold Coast Convention and the Convention People's Party are not the same party. Nkrumah led the second. Name the 1948 shooting as former soldiers, not as a battle. "The people wanted freedom" needs the events that turned that wish into a campaign. Do not skip from 1948 straight to 1957 with nothing in between.
These are practice questions in the style of the paper, with a model answer and a mark scheme. They are not a promise of what your paper will ask.
3 marks
(a) In which year did the Gold Coast become independent Ghana? (1 mark)
(b) Name the political party that led that campaign. (1 mark)
(c) Name its leader. (1 mark)
(a) 1957.
(b) The Convention People's Party.
(c) Kwame Nkrumah.
4 marks
Explain two events of 1948 that widened the independence campaign beyond a small group of educated leaders. (4 marks)
There was a boycott of imported goods. Former soldiers were shot at the Christiansborg crossroads, and riots followed. Ordinary people, not only lawyers, were now in the streets.
3 marks
Why did the 1951 election matter to the independence campaign? (3 marks)
The Convention People's Party won. Nkrumah was in prison at the time and was released to lead the government. The colonial government now had to work with a party that had won an election.
More questions on this topic are inside glearn, marked as you answer, with the reason written out. The first ones need no account.
Practise History freeOn 6 March 1957, when the Gold Coast became Ghana. The Convention People's Party, led by Kwame Nkrumah, won the elections that led there. The republic followed in 1960.
A boycott of imported goods, then the shooting of former soldiers at the Christiansborg crossroads, then riots. Those events took the campaign beyond the small group of educated leaders. All WASSCE History past questions