The National Party's 1948 Election Campaign and the Rise of Apartheid

In this episode of Mr. Hutchings History, we analyze the National Party's shocking 1948 electoral victory in South Africa, which set the stage for apartheid. Discover how the party's campaign leveraged Afrikaner nationalism, fear of racial integration, and economic insecurity with its infamous "Swart gevaar" ("Black danger") slogan. Explore the influence of the Sauer Commission, which provided the ideological foundation for apartheid, and learn how South Africa's electoral system enabled the National Party to win despite losing the popular vote. Finally, we examine the immediate implementation of apartheid laws, including the Population Registration Act and Group Areas Act, and their devastating impact on South African society. #IBHistory #ApartheidSouthAfrica #1948Election #NationalParty #DFFMalan #AfrikanerNationalism #SauerCommission #SwartGevaar #RacialSegregation #ApartheidPolicies #SouthAfricanHistory #HistoricalAnalysis Works Cited Beinart, William. Twentieth-Century South Africa. Oxford UP, 2001. Dubow, Saul. Apartheid, 1948-1994. Oxford UP, 2014. Giliomee, Hermann. The Afrikaners: Biography of a People. University of Virginia Press, 2003. Worden, Nigel. The Making of Modern South Africa. Blackwell, 2007.