a hostile air arose in Jamaica concerning taxes, labor strikes, and civil unrest. This would lead to Manley lending his aide to the workers and forming the Peoples National Party. Norman Manley founded the Peoples National Party (PNP) in September 1938, and was elected its president for 31 consecutive years until his retirement. As president of the PNP, Norman Manley fought for Universal Adult Suffrage. Through the PNP, he became a representative for Jamaica in the Federation of the West Indies, a group of nations joined in an attempt to right some common problems. Norman Manley led the unprecedented movement to allow the people of Jamaica to vote on whether or not to remain in the federation. Once the people voted to leave the Federation, Norman Manley led the movement to draft a constitution so that Jamaica could become independent. He headed the committee that negotiated Jamaicas independence from Great Britain. Once independence came, Norman Manley lost in the election to his cousin Alexander Bustamante of the Jamaica Labor Party, for the seat of prime minister. Norman Manleys son, Michael, would later go on to become prime minister of Jamaica. To this day, Norman Manley is known throughout Jamaica as the Right Excellent Norman Washington Manley. His birthday is celebrated in the country and so are his accomplishments. He is seen as the father of Jamaican politics and a leader in Jamaicas independence. He created the multi-party system in Jamaica and made the needs of the people the focus of the government. Norman Manley passed away on September 2, 1969, but he will always be remembered.I chose Norman Manley because of a family friend of mine. Mr. Roy Manley Sr. CPA is distantly related to Norman Manley. The family has a picture of him in their house and I vaguely remember them talking about him many years ago. His name peaked my interest and I wanted to learn more about their family history. After reading about th...
