User:Wood1575/sandbox

On May 6, 1957, Ghana became the first black African country to gain independence in the twentieth century. Its president, Kwame Nkrumah, was an American- educated reformer who brought with him many western ideas for the modernization of his country. Although the Ghanian people united to throw off British rule, they did not share a common language or history, so they began to return to ethnic and regional divisions following independence. For that reason, unification was a priority for the Nkrumah administration. within the first two years following independence, Ghana saw measurable improvement in agricultural yields, literacy, health care, transportation and communication. However, many of Nkrumah's initiatives were met with resistance when they disrupted traditional cultural practices and were often the source of class and ethnic competition and resentment. The Volta Dam Project was planned to supply power for a smelting plant needed to create aluminum from Ghanian bauxite and to much of the country. This project was ultimately financed with the aid of the Soviet Union. in 1958, Ghana hosted the All- African People's Conference with the goal of increasing cooperation among western African states.