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Poor Individuals from 1450 to 1700 Throughout Europe in the fifteenth, sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries, nations were filled with poor and less fortunate individuals. While the nobles of countries such as France and England ruled their lands, many forgot about the underprivileged that roamed the city streets begging for alms. As a result, the opinions towards these lower class people were very differentiated. However, three main opinions stood out. All in all, the views of the poor in fifteenth – eighteenth century Europe included those who believed individuals should help the poor because it is the right thing to do, those who believed individuals should help the poor for God, and those who believed the poor were just idlers …show more content…
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
As the Reconstruction Era ended, the United States became the up and coming world power. The Spanish-American war was in full swing, and the First World War was well on its way. As a result of the open-door policy, England, Germany, France, Russia, and eventually Japan experienced rapid industrial growth; the United States decided to pursue a foreign policy because of both self- interest and idealism. According to the documents, Economic self- interest, rather than idealism was more significant in driving American foreign policy from 1895 to 1920 because the United States wanted to protect their foreign trade, property and their access to recourses. While the documents also show that Nationalistic thought (idealism) was also crucial in driving American foreign policy, economic Self- interest prevailed.
In today’s society many countries and even citizens of the United States question the U.S. government’s decision to get in involved in nuclear warfare. These people deemed it unnecessary and state that the U.S. is a hypocrite that preaches peace, but causes destruction and death. Before and during World War II the U.S. was presented with a difficult decision on whether or not to develop and use the atomic bomb.
Between 1450 and 1700, attitudes toward the European poor changed dynamically, roughly following a three-part cycle. In the late 1400's, the poor were regarded with sympathy and compassion; generous aid from both public and religious institutions was common. By the 16th Century, however, the poor were treated with suspicion and harsh measures, to ensure that they were not becoming lazy, using welfare as a substitute for labor. Beginning in the 17th Century, the attitudes toward the poor again shifted, returning to more sympathetic views and responses, though many members of the upper-class still retained the negative outlook on the destitute of the 16th Century.
The Dark ages is the time between the 500’s and 1400’s. The Dark ages was a time of civil wars, Death, diseases, invasions and thief. There was a lot of invasions and to protect them self from that communities made a code call The code of Chivalry as (Doc 5) states “Europe in the Middle Ages was a dangerous place. Invasions from Muslims, Mongols, Vikings, and other tribal groups were common. War between lords was also common. The value of protection and warriors created a social code called Chivalry. Knights fought for lords and ladies, and lived by a gentleman- warrior code of Chivalry.” And other big thing in The Dark Ages was Diseases. Diseases in the dark ages was deadly because there was not antidote and even Doctors were scared of
The institution of slavery, from the year 1830 to 1860, created a divide between the northern and southern regions of the United States. Southerners, who relied on slaves to maintain their plantations, supported the institution, as it was a major part of their economy. Meanwhile, northerners, many of whom depended on slave produced cotton for textile mills and goods for the shipping industry, were divided on the slave issue, as some saw it as a blessing while the abolitionists saw it as a horrific institution. Overall, attitudes toward the institution of slavery, due to a variety of causes, differed in the varying regions in the United States from 1830 to 1860.
The text describes why many wanted to end public assistance programs. According to the author, American society in the mid-1800’s had the notion that if you gave someone assistance, it discouraged them from wanting to be self-sufficient. In addition, there was a societal thought that public assistance corrupted a person in some way. The author described several reasons why private giving was favored over public giving. First it would eliminate the poor’s sense of entitlement to benefits. Secondly, political pressures were harder when assistance came through private means. Lastly, a connection would now exist between the rich and the poor. If the public was not providing benefits, people would have to find work because private assistance was not something that was
The government in Tudor England became concerned about the poor that lived in their community. They soon noticed the changes in agriculture during this time period. Do to this people were led away from the country and village life to find employment in the towns. Wool trade increases significantly. They had noticed that there was a vast increase of the poor. There were more of the poor than there were the rich. In the city along, with the farmland they were having a difficult time finding a job.
The Elizabeth Poor Law advocated and placed responsibility of the poor to the churches and government. If parishes could not meet the responsibilities, counties were required to assume relief-giving functions. The government became the chief enforcer of poor relief. However, the local parishes fulfilled their welfare responsibilities in several ways. They provided outdoor relief to persons in the homes; provided indoor relief to person in special institutions that came to be variously known as almshouse, poorhouses or workhouses; or required person to become indenture servants or apprentices. It also required relatives to care for their impoverished relatives. The poor were provided with unemployment relief, initiated works; regulated local prices to help poor persons; gave in-kind assistance such a as food, clothing, and wood, provided health care; and removed children from abusive households’ and gave legal protection . Many local jurisdictions possessed “laws of settlement” that entitled people to receive local poor law relief after a year’s residence.
Peasants, who, again formed the vast majority of the population, owned 40% of France’s total land. However, they were also the most heavily taxed. They “alone [paid] the taille” as well as a bulk of taxes despite them being aimed toward the nobles. Taxes consumed most of a lower class citizens income, which left them with only enough to life in discomfort. Most could afford only to feed their families. In some places, taxes consumed up to one third of the total income. Laborers were not considered a priority in France as they were in other countries, which was a key aspect in the heavy taxes put upon peasants. In other European countries such as England, the lower class earned a greater respect. Those who were born well into their society admired the intense labor which provided them with many resources. Because of this awareness, the peasants in England did not take as hard of a hit from taxes as the French. On top of taxes in France, it was demanded that they pay rent as well. Peasants, as the group who took part in the most labor but received the least pay, had to supply the country with practically all of its financial needs. Even so, the higher classes all supported the taxes because their lives were essentially unaffected by the peasants’ suffering. (Sée, pages
This essay will examine the technique of workfare as a way of governing the poor. Workfare is a widely contested area which evokes many conflicting opinions at both the political and the public level. The following quote comes from Dan Hodges, a British commentator writing for The Daily Telegraph, and gives an interesting insight in one of the discussions workfare poses. Hodges writes about the way several proponents of workfare (including David Cameron, the British PM in 2012), who are quite successful themselves with their careers, condemn unemployed citizens to do anything but pleasant jobs without getting a reasonable compensation:
The Poor Law of 1601 was the first to codify the idea of the state to provide for the welfare of its citizens. It distinguished between the 'deserving' and the 'undeserving' poor; relief was local and community controlled.1 The 1834 Poor Law Act Amendment Act was an amendment to the Act for the relief of The English Poor Law of 1601.
laws were created and set in 1601. The earlier laws divided the poor people into different
Moreover, political authority in the countries in which I worked was arbitrary, capricious, and corrupt… Yet nothing I saw—neither the poverty nor the overt oppression—ever had the same devastating effect on the human personality as the undiscriminating welfare state. I never saw the loss of dignity, the self-centeredness, the spiritual and emotional vacuity, or the sheer ignorance of how to live, that I see daily in England. In a kind of pincer movement, therefore, I and the doctors from India and the Philippines have come to the same terrible conclusion: that the worst poverty is in England—and it is not material poverty but poverty of soul. (Dalrymple, 6)
This paper will examine the origin of the concepts of altruism and mutual aid. It will also examine the controversies or conflicting perspectives that surround the two concepts such as the power of self-interest in the life of a human being. Furthermore, it will highlight on the history of the poor people in the middle ages, the forms of aid that was available then, and the similar endeavors in the present day.
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