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Why did the Nationalist Party win the 1948 election? :, jan smuts, after…
Why did the Nationalist Party win the 1948 election? :
South African economy
The majority of the South African economy relied on labour by Black Africans in the industry. This was visibly seen by the large movement of black men to the urban white areas for jobs.
Towards the end of the1930s there was a dramatic resurgence of the Afrikaner nationalist spirit and confidence to protest, demanding further rights and a democratic future
The growth of the Black African population
The growth of manufacturing swelled the size of the African working class, in areas far less easy for the bosses to control than mining and farming. Protests and demonstrations were harder for the government to control. Many Afrikaners were shocked by the growing numbers of black people in urban areas and their growing willingness to take action to improve their treatment. As a result, they became more extreme in their attitudes and more determined to suppress non-white peoples.
But, as these concessions spurred further demands, and as the tide of war turned in favour of the United Party, the ruling class began to clamp down again on the black working class.
The history of apartheid and how it came to be
South Africa had been under fought over for control by the British and the Afrikans, and when the British handed over control the Dutch, the Afrikans were effectively able to pass laws that aligned with their white supremacy views.
After South Africa gained its independence, the Afrikans government began placing policies of racial segregation. The first policy passed was the Land Act of 1913, where it forced black Africans to live in reserves and making it illegal for them to work as a sharecropper.
Afrikans were able to dominate South Africa's politics because of the vulnerability the country was in. The constant conquest for domination of a white minority from different colonisers had continuously resulted in poverty and powerlessness among a black majority for centuries. The Second Boer war was the last, before South Africa's independence, yet there was still the major presence of the Afrikans and their domination in politics.
The ideology of Jan Smut did not align with white Afrikaners
Jan Smut supported the ideas of equal human rights and felt that segregation would not work out. Many felt that he was a threat to the security of Apartheid and no longer saw eye to eye with the white Afrikaners.
The end of World War II
Because of the need for conscription, this led to the relaxation of several racial laws, as there was an increase in demand for workers. This gave way for black South Africans who had experienced freedom from the relaxed laws to push for more freedom and rights through demonstrations. The fear amongst the Afrikans for losing their segregation policies, alongside South Africa being economically weakened by the end of WW2, caused the government to push harsher policies on segregation
During the war, Smuts and his cabinet were blamed for the economic hardships as a result to South Africa's participation in the second world war. Smuts experience in the military post pushed for South Africa's participation and people no longer wanted to continue in a war that would not predominantly a threat to South Africa's security.
Malapportionment
There is electoral districts with a calculated ratio of voters to representatives. Depending on the number of voters, it would judge the influence that district has on the governing body.
This bias representation toward geographic areas over equality of individuals allowed the National Party to secure more seats than the United Party despite the Untied Party securing 50.9% of the popular vote. The heavily weighted favor of rural seats where the National Party was dominant allowed for the party to emerge successful.
An overwhelming majority of South Africans were excluded from voting
