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Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I

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Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello, Welcome to This Day in History Class,

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Speaker 1: where we flipped through the book of history and bring

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Speaker 1: you a new page every day. Today is July one,

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Speaker 1: nineteen The day was July one, nineteen sixty. The new

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Speaker 1: Constitution of Ghana went into effect, transforming the country from

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Speaker 1: one with a parliamentary system to one with a republican

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Speaker 1: form of government. The Republic of Ghana was formally proclaimed

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Speaker 1: and Prime Minister Quama and Kruma was inaugurated as president.

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Speaker 1: Before independence, Ghana was known as the Gold Coast, a

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Speaker 1: British colony. The British exploited and exported the resources in

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Speaker 1: the Gold Coast, including gold, diamonds, ivory, coco, timber, and manganese.

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Speaker 1: As this economy developed, it supported the construction of harbors, railways, roads, schools,

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Speaker 1: and hospitals. European interference in the economics and politics of

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Speaker 1: the region had broken down the traditional social order of

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Speaker 1: the groups there, but by the end of World War

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Speaker 1: two people had begun protesting for more autonomy from the British.

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Speaker 1: Sentiments of nationalism had reached a peak, and movements developed

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Speaker 1: in opposition to colonial administration, with the goal of independence.

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Speaker 1: A moderate party called the United Gold Coast Convention or

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Speaker 1: u g c C formed in nineteen forty seven to

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Speaker 1: pursue constitutional reform and eventual self government. Quama and Kruma

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Speaker 1: was the general secretary of the party, but in nineteen

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Speaker 1: forty nine he split with the u g c C

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Speaker 1: and formed the Revolutionary Convention People's Party or c p P.

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Speaker 1: Kruma and the c p P called for self government now,

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Speaker 1: and it gained widespread popular support. In nineteen fifty the

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Speaker 1: c p P began a campaign of so called positive action,

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Speaker 1: encouraging nonviolent resistance and strikes against colonial authorities. Kroma was

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Speaker 1: soon arrested and imprisoned for a sedition, but the c

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Speaker 1: p P won a majority of the seats in the

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Speaker 1: first elections for the Legislative Assembly, and Kruma was released

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Speaker 1: from prison to become the leader of government business. In

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Speaker 1: nineteen fifty two and Kruma became the first Prime Minister

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Speaker 1: of the Gold Coast. In nineteen fifty six, the British

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Speaker 1: Togo Land Trust Territory integrated with the Gold Coast and

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Speaker 1: on March sixth, nineteen fifty seven, after centuries of being

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Speaker 1: a center for the export of enslaved people and then

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Speaker 1: being subject to European control. The Gold Coast gained its

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Speaker 1: independence from Britain and became an independent, self governing member

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Speaker 1: of the Commonwealth of Nations. The country was re named Ghana.

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Speaker 1: It was the first black sub Saharan country in colonial

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Speaker 1: Africa to achieve independence. Kroma was a Marxist and Pan Africanists,

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Speaker 1: and he viewed the independence of Ghana as an important

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Speaker 1: step for the entire continent of Africa. Though his rule

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Speaker 1: was increasingly regarded as authoritarian, he improved infrastructure and social

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Speaker 1: conditions in Ghana. The working class was thriving, but the

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Speaker 1: country was still an independent constitutional monarchy, with Queen Elizabeth

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Speaker 1: the Second as its head of state. In April of

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Speaker 1: nineteen sixty, a plebiscite or constitutional referendum took place on

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Speaker 1: the issue of Ghana becoming a republic. About eighty eight

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Speaker 1: percent of the voters supported the change. Kroma was elected

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Speaker 1: President of the Republic with eight nine percent of the vote.

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Speaker 1: He was inaugurated on July one, nineteen sixty, when the

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Speaker 1: new Constitution of Ghana went into effect. Ghana became a

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Speaker 1: republic in the Commonwealth of Nations. Soon Krema had support. Initially,

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Speaker 1: people began to resent him and the administration, which was

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Speaker 1: suffering under debt and corruption. There were several assassination attempts

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Speaker 1: on the president's life. Four years after Ghana became a

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Speaker 1: republic and Kruma was elected president, a constitutional amendment made

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Speaker 1: Ghana a one party state and Kruma declared himself life

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Speaker 1: president of the country and the party. But as Krema

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Speaker 1: tried to advance his vision of a United Africa and

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Speaker 1: empowered activists, the economy and living standards in Ghana suffered

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Speaker 1: in opposition to the regime grew. In February of nineteen

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Speaker 1: sixty six, while the president was visiting China, Kruma's government

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Speaker 1: was overthrown by a coup of the Ghana Armed Forces.

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Speaker 1: The National Liberation Council took over the government and suspended

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Speaker 1: the constitution, and Crema found refuge in Guinea until nineteen one,

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Speaker 1: when Jerry Rawlings came to power. Or Ghana's government saw

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Speaker 1: many coups and alternating military and civilian regimes. I'm Eves

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Speaker 1: Jeff Cote, and hopefully you know a little more about

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Speaker 1: history today than you did yesterday. If you have any

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Speaker 1: burning questions or comments to tell us. You can find

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Speaker 1: us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook at t d i

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Speaker 1: HC podcast. You can subscribe to This Day History Class

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