Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1950- (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
3 boxes
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
After a ten year political campaign by the Convention Peoples' Party (CPP) the Gold Coast became independent Ghana on the 6th March 1957, the first of Britain's African colonies to make this transition. Its first Prime Minister and dominant political figure Dr. Kwame Nkrumah led it through independence to become a republic and a one-party state, and was also a prime mover in the formation of the Organization of African Unity (OAS). His removal in a 1966 coup ushered in a period of characterised by military interventions in government, which may have ended with the election of John Kufuor in 2000. He was the first elected president to succed another elected president. The material here dates from the independence movement onwards, and is of particular interest with regard to Nkrumah's socialism, his pan-Africanist orientation and the arguments over his legacy following his death in 1972.
Repository
Archival history
The ICS political parties collection was begun in 1960-1961, with special emphasis being placed on primary material such as party constitutions, policy statements, convention reports and election manifestos. Since then, the main method of gathering material has been to appeal directly to political parties throughout the Commonwealth, though contributions from Institute members and staff following visits to relevant countries have been significant. More recently material has been collected by means of downloading documents from the websites of the major parties.
GB 0101 PP.GH 1950- Collection (Fonds) 3 boxes Institute of Commonwealth Studies
After a ten year political campaign by the Convention Peoples' Party (CPP) the Gold Coast became independent Ghana on the 6th March 1957, the first of Britain's African colonies to make this transition. Its first Prime Minister and dominant political figure Dr. Kwame Nkrumah led it through independence to become a republic and a one-party state, and was also a prime mover in the formation of the Organization of African Unity (OAS). His removal in a 1966 coup ushered in a period of characterised by military interventions in government, which may have ended with the election of John Kufuor in 2000. He was the first elected president to succed another elected president. The material here dates from the independence movement onwards, and is of particular interest with regard to Nkrumah's socialism, his pan-Africanist orientation and the arguments over his legacy following his death in 1972.
The ICS political parties collection was begun in 1960-1961, with special emphasis being placed on primary material such as party constitutions, policy statements, convention reports and election manifestos. Since then, the main method of gathering material has been to appeal directly to political parties throughout the Commonwealth, though contributions from Institute members and staff following visits to relevant countries have been significant. More recently material has been collected by means of downloading documents from the websites of the major parties.
Institute of Commonwealth Studies
Manifestos, speeches, posters, constitutions, leaflets, newspapers, convention reports and miscellaneous election materials issued by the Action Congress Party (Ghana), the Convention People's Party (Ghana), the Ghana Congress Party, the National Alliance of Liberals (Ghana), the National Conciliation Party (Ghana), the National Liberation Movement (Ghana), the New Patriotic Party (Ghana), the Northern People's Party (Ghana), the People's Democratic Party of Ghana, the People's National Party (Ghana), the People's Vanguard (Ghana), the Popular Front Party (Ghana), the Progress Party (Ghana), the Third Force Party (Ghana), the United Gold Coast Convention, the United National Convention (Ghana), the United Party (Ghana) and the United Revolutionary Front (Ghana).
Further accruals are expected, some in electronic form.
Alphabetically by party, and then in rough chronological order.
Open to all for research purposes; access is free for anyone in higher education.
Copies can usually be obtained - apply to library staff.
English
Records at item level on library catalogue (SASCAT)
See also Ghana: Trades Unions Material (TU.GH) and Ghana: Pressure Groups Material (PG.GH), as well as Political Party, Trades Unions and Pressure Group Materials for other Commonwealth countries and related material in the library's main classified sequence, all held at the ICS.
The Political Archives Project was a 2.5 year project to catalogue political archive material held in the libraries of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies and the Institute for the Study of the Americas to the University and present it as a cohesive virtual collection. The project was successfully completed in July 2005. Descriptions of all the documents may be found by searching the library catalogue at http://catalogue.ulrls.lon.ac.uk/, or via the Political Archives website: http://polarch.sas.ac.uk
Description compiled by Daniel Millum, Political Archives Project Officer at the Institutes of Commonwealth and Latin American Studies. Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997. Created 11/02/2004 AIM25 Action Congress Party (Ghana) Africa Colonial countries Commonwealth countries Convention People's Party (Ghana) Decolonization Elections Electoral systems Ghana Ghana Congress Party Internal politics National Alliance of Liberals (Ghana) National Conciliation Party (Ghana) National Liberation Movement (Ghana) New Patriotic Party (Ghana) Northern People's Party (Ghana) People's Democratic Party of Ghana People's National Party (Ghana) People's Vanguard (Ghana) Political parties Political systems Popular Front Party (Ghana) Progress Party (Ghana) Third Force Party (Ghana) United Gold Coast Convention United National Convention (Ghana) United Party (Ghana) United Revolutionary Front (Ghana) West Africa
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Institute of Commonwealth Studies
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Manifestos, speeches, posters, constitutions, leaflets, newspapers, convention reports and miscellaneous election materials issued by the Action Congress Party (Ghana), the Convention People's Party (Ghana), the Ghana Congress Party, the National Alliance of Liberals (Ghana), the National Conciliation Party (Ghana), the National Liberation Movement (Ghana), the New Patriotic Party (Ghana), the Northern People's Party (Ghana), the People's Democratic Party of Ghana, the People's National Party (Ghana), the People's Vanguard (Ghana), the Popular Front Party (Ghana), the Progress Party (Ghana), the Third Force Party (Ghana), the United Gold Coast Convention, the United National Convention (Ghana), the United Party (Ghana) and the United Revolutionary Front (Ghana).
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
Further accruals are expected, some in electronic form.
System of arrangement
Alphabetically by party, and then in rough chronological order.
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Open to all for research purposes; access is free for anyone in higher education.
Conditions governing reproduction
Copies can usually be obtained - apply to library staff.
Language of material
- English
Script of material
- Latin
Language and script notes
English
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
See also Ghana: Trades Unions Material (TU.GH) and Ghana: Pressure Groups Material (PG.GH), as well as Political Party, Trades Unions and Pressure Group Materials for other Commonwealth countries and related material in the library's main classified sequence, all held at the ICS.
Finding aids
Records at item level on library catalogue (SASCAT)
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Publication note
The Political Archives Project was a 2.5 year project to catalogue political archive material held in the libraries of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies and the Institute for the Study of the Americas to the University and present it as a cohesive virtual collection. The project was successfully completed in July 2005. Descriptions of all the documents may be found by searching the library catalogue at http://catalogue.ulrls.lon.ac.uk/, or via the Political Archives website: http://polarch.sas.ac.uk
Notes area
Note
The Political Archives Project was a 2.5 year project to catalogue political archive material held in the libraries of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies and the Institute for the Study of the Americas to the University and present it as a cohesive virtual collection. The project was successfully completed in July 2005. Descriptions of all the documents may be found by searching the library catalogue at http://catalogue.ulrls.lon.ac.uk/, or via the Political Archives website: http://polarch.sas.ac.uk
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Place access points
Name access points
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
Language(s)
- English