The Aims and Principles of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act
In the decades prior to the national reform of the Poor Law in 1834,
the characterisations of the administration were of variety rather
than uniformity. The social and economic changes at this time produced
many problems for those that were responsible for the social welfare.
Many areas throughout the country though found solutions to this
problem within the legal frame-work of the Elizabethan Poor Law of
1597-1601.
In the initial stages the amendment act was set up to reduce the
amount of poor rates that were being paid. In the first ten years of
the amendment act the amount of relief being paid was reduced to a
national average of four million to five million a year.
One of the principles of the amendment act was to encourage the 'poor'
to work for what they received because poverty was looked upon as the
fault of the individual, so therefore the amount of relief that was
payable was set at a rate that was lower that the lowest paid
labourer. This was enforced to dissuade people from claiming benefits,
so in the mid to late 1800's many workhouses were built to house the
poor and thus forcing them to work, often in squalid conditions.
This is a quote by the assistant poor law commissioner:
"Our intention is to make the workhouses as like prisons as possible…
our object is to establish therein a discipline so severe and
repulsive as to make them a terror to the poor". (Thompson, 1963, p.
295).
Although in previous years the able bodied would wander from parish to
parish to gain more relief for themselves, the taxpayers wanted this
to stop. They were very re...
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...hey were dwellers in different zones, or inhabitants of different
planets; who are formed by a different breeding, are fed by a
different food, are ordered by different manners and are not governed
by the same laws.'
'You speak of -'said Egremont hesitatingly, 'the rich and the poor.'
(Benjamin Disraeli, Sybil 1845, book 2, chapter 5).
Bibliography.
Digby, A. (1982) The Poor Law in 19th Century Englandand Wales.
London: Chameleon Press ltd.
Fraser, D. (2003) 3rd Ed. The Evolution of the British Welfare State.
Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.
Stitt, S. (1994) Poverty and Poor Relief: Concepts and Reality.
Surrey: Avebury.
Timmins, N. (1996) 2nd Ed. The Five Giants: A Biography of the Welfare
State. Glasgow: Fontana Press.
Lecture notes.
http://dspace.dial.pipex.com
www.umd.umich.edu
O?Beirne, Kate. ?The State of Welfare: An old and tricky question resurfaces.? National Review 54.2 (February 11, 2002): 1--2. Online. Information Access Expanded
In fact, many believed the poor were just worthless idlers who were not even trying to better there own situations, but instead were taking the high roads away from taxes and worries (Document 11). There were many observed instances in which those in poverty, when given the opputinity to better their lives, chose to stay poor and recieve handouts. One such cause comes from William Turner, and English Physican for Lord Earl of Somerset when he recounts how poor folks often begged on the Earl's door but when Turner offered to help health wise, they chose to stay sick and beg (Document 6). Similar to modern day abusers of the American Wellfare system, officals became very angry with idlers who did nothing but feed off the wealth of the working class in the form of alms. They even believed that idlers should be expelled from their communites as they only bring economics down (Document 5). Many also thought that in order received any aid at all a person must be working. Reforms such as the Workhouse Test Act in 1723, though this occured later than the period of discussion, were a result of these opinions. This act, among others, required that people work a set amount of hours before they could receive any aid. Even the famous Cardinal Richelieu of France believed that the idlers were “good-for-nothings” who were restricting those who actually needed help from getting it while they were being lazy and greedy (Document 8). This opinion of certain poor indivudals being lazy and abusing resources remains amoung those in power even today in
While some citizens of the United States, between 1825 and 1850, believed that reform was foolish and that the nation should stick to its old conduct, reformists in this time period still sought to make the United States a more ideally democratic nation. This was an age of nationalism and pride, and where there was pride in one’s country, there was the aspiration to improve one’s country even further. Many new reformist and abolitionist groups began to form, all attempting to change aspects of the United States that the respective groups thought to be unfair or unjust. Some groups, such as lower and middle class women and immigrants, sought to improve rights within the county, while other reformers aspired to change the American education system into a more efficient way of teaching the county’s youth. Still other reform groups, particularly involved in the church and the second great awakening, wanted to change society as a whole. This was a time and age of change, and all these reforms were intended to contribute to the democratic way our country operated.
Weber, M. (1968) Status Groups & Classes, in G. Ross and C. Wittich (eds.) Economy and Society, Berkeley: University of California Press, (pp 302-307). Handbook SGY14, (2007/1). Social Sciences in Australia, Reading 5 (pp17-18). School of Arts, Media and Culture Faculty of Arts, Griffith University, Brisbane.
In England poor laws were first passed in 1598 and continued in amended forms until the National Health Service (NHS) came into formal existence on the ‘Appointed day’ which was fifth of July 1948. The poor laws were introduced to deal with poverty at a local level. At this time the disadvantaged, sick and elderly were assisted by the church, charities, philanthropists and work houses. During the industrialisation revolution Britain saw immense technological advancements in manufacturing and machinery. There was the rapid creation of towns, people migrated into the cities in search of employment, cities became over-crowded worsening squalor and as a consequence the spreading of infectious diseases became rife. In the latter half of the 1800s political changes meant that governments needed to appeal to voters in order to remain in office. For example, The Representation of the People Act 1867 (Reform Act, 1867) which gave the vote to the working classes meaning that parliamentary seats would no longer be guaranteed by money and social status (Parry, 1996). In order to appeal to voters government would have to address social issues and the failing Poor Law. Reports by philanthropists Charles Booth and Seebohm Rowntree were of great influence to Liberal Government. Booth surveyed London’s population and documented the social deprivation and poor health of its inhabitants (Booth, 1902-1903). Whilst Rowntree studied poverty in York finding that twenty-eight per cent of c.46,000 people surveyed were found to be in severe poverty and fifty per cent of these people were in paid employment but their wages were not sufficient to afford to meet many of their basic needs (Rowntree, 1901). Prior to the National Health Service medical care ...
By looking at the portrayal and equality between 1830 – 1931, it is questioned whether the Great Reform Act 1832 can be seen as well adjusted due to its adverse and decisive consequences. The Act did bring many positive outcomes including the increase in the electorate and incline in raw materials as shown by John Robottom, for example, coal production increased from 22.5 million tons to 270.0 million tons. Also, by 1928 men and women were able to vote who were previously disregarded due to the consequences of the Great Reform Act extending the electorate. On the other hand, it is believed that the Act brought more negative outcomes which outweighed any favourable results, for example, Professor Gash demonstrated that the new system consisted of elements of the old system just as Parliament comprised of both aristocrats and country gentlemen, putting the working classes at a disadvantage. Therefore, with the use of various secondary sources this essay will discuss the limited and continuing effects of the Great Reform Act 1832, both conclusive and pessimistic, with particular emphasis on unfavourable consequences such as the formation of the Chartist movement and the decline in patronage.
The 19th amendment of the constitution states, “Prohibits the denial of the right to vote based on sex.” The date submitted was June, 4, 1919 and was completed on August 18, 1920. The ratification time span was 1 year, 2 months and 14 days. The background on this amendment was until 1910, most states in the United States did not allow women to vote.
Living conditions and public health made an impact on Great Britain. From Friedrich Engels the conditions of the working- class in England in 1844
The Townshend Acts were extremely unpopular in places like Boston. The Boston Massacre of 1770 is one of the most famous protests that took place in response to these acts.
“I do not wish them [women] to have power over men; but over themselves” – Mary Wollstonecraft. In the 19th century the hot topic was women’s rights everybody had an opinion about it. Of course the expected ones like Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton had much to say but a few unexpected ones like William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass spoke out for women’s rights. The focus will be the responsibilities and roles that the activists played in the Women’s Rights or Feminist Movement. The relevance to the theme is the activists had a very important role toward reaching the ultimate goal of the Women’s Rights Movement. The Women’s Rights Movement was one of the most essential times in American history; it was the fight for women acquiring the same rights as men. Susan B. Anthony was considered the leader of the Women’s Rights Movement after she was denied the right to speak in a temperance convention; she had the responsibility of creating the National Women’s Suffrage Association (NWSA) and helping to secure voting rights by her historic court case, the Trials of Susan B. Anthony. Elizabeth Cady Stanton was an important women’s rights activist that helped plan the first organized women’s rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York and wrote the Declaration of Sentiments. Lucretia Mott worked along with Elizabeth Cady Stanton to plan the first women’s rights convention and wrote the, “Discourse on Women”. Lucy Stone formed the American Women’s Suffrage Association (AWSA) and convince individual states to join the effort towards women rights. These women had an influence in the National American Women’s Suffrage Association’s (NAWSA) achievement of the goals in the Women’s Rights Movement. These women had a profound effect on reaching equal rights between men and women.
The notion of overseeing welfare wasn’t always the case in the UK. Before this the ‘Poor Law’ was operated. (1598-1948) This consisted on a basis that the poor amongst society were essentially a problem of their own making and in turn needed to be punished because of this. ‘Those without jobs were lazy, feckless or in some other way delinquent’ (Coats: 34: 2012) Welfare was deemed to be a privilege, a goodwill gesture from the rich to the poor. Harsh living conditions and the punishments were seen as motivation for the poor to strive to improve their own lives.
Of-course such views were not unprecedented, especially in regards to scientific developments emerging in the 19th century. Works such as Malthus’s Essay on the Principle of Population5 suggested that the criminal class’s -unequivocally composed of poor- incapability to su...
Our English heritage has greatly affected social welfare today. Some of the standards set in England include: indoor relief; a national policy for the poor; the provision of serving the poor by placing them in institutions; and the categorization of the poor into two basic categorizes, the worthy poor and the able-bodied poor (unworthy poor). The Elizabethan Poor Law also set precedents which include: clear government responsibility for those in need; government authority to force people to work; government enforcement of family responsibility; responsibility for carrying out programs at the local level; and strict residence requirements.
The 1832 Reform Act was the first major attempt in changing the static Parliamentary system since the sixteenth century; it was the beginning of the evolution of British politics. The Act changed the franchise qualification in both borough and county constituencies and consequently, it delivered an increase in the electorate from 478,000 to 813,000; which grew further as wealth increased and more men owned enough property to qualify for the vote.
Charles Dickens shows notable amounts of originality and morality in his novels, making him one of the most renowned novelists of the Victorian Era and immortalizing him through his great novels and short stories. One of the reasons his work has been so popular is because his novels reflect the issues of the Victorian era, such as the great indifference of many Victorians to the plight of the poor. The reformation of the Poor Law 1834 brings even more unavoidable problems to the poor. The Poor Law of 1834 allows the poor to receive public assistance only through established workhouses, causing those in debt to be sent to prison. Unable to pay debts, new levels of poverty are created. Because of personal childhood experiences with debt, poverty, and child labor, Dickens recognizes these issues with a sympathetic yet critical eye. Dickens notices that England's politicians and people of the upper class try to solve the growing problem of poverty through the Poor Laws and what they presume to be charitable causes, but Dickens knows that these things will not be successful; in fact they are often inhumane. Dickens' view of poverty and the abuse of the poor