poverty and pauperism

what was outdoor relief

giving money, food, or clothes to the poor rather than placing them in an institution

what was indoor relief

use of poorhouses to house the poor

how many poor houses were there by 1776

more than 2000 containing between 20 and 50 inmates

what was the Gilbert’s Act

only those who physically could not work through age, sickness or infirmity should be admitted to poorhouses

what was the Speenhamland system

outdoor relief

given an amount of money as poor relief (linked to the price of bread)

what was the Roundsman system

outdoor relief

paupers auctioned for work to local farmers with employer paying 80% of wages and parish paying 20%

why was there pressure to reform the old poor law (pre 1834)

-population growth created an overwhelming demand for relief

-outdated system

-mechanisation reduced employment opportunites

-very localised as each parish acted independently

issues with the Speenhamland system

encouraged large families as you would be given more money

inflation meant the price of bread rose (corn laws) so families would receive more money

issues with the Roundsman system

incentivised employers to sack current workers in favour of cheap labour

when was the new poor law introduced

1834

what was the concept of ‘less eligibility’

only the most desperate would ask relief - the worst job would be preferable to the workhouse

how many parishes and unions were there

15,000 parishes

600 unions (each had a workhouse)

where was the poor law commission based

Somerset House

‘guardians of the poor law’

local men funded and governed each workhouse

what did Paine believe

-believed poverty was not the fault of the people but of the government for failing to support them

-encouraged self improvement

-wanted child benefits of four pounds per year for u14s for 250,000 destitute families

why were Paine’s ideas unpopular

-paine blamed the government not the people, which challenged their laissez faire attitude

-paine’s proposal would be time consuming and costly

-challenged the popular view that the poor were deserving of their plight

what were owen’s views

-criticised government views and responses to the poor

-challenged the thinking of society including deserving and undeserving poor

-believed in the power of society and the individual

what is equality of opportunity

-political and social ideal that ensures that people can compete on equal terms for advantaged positions

-people would help themselves if given the opportunity

what did malthus believe

-poverty and famine were natural outcomes as a result of population growth

-population will always outrun the growth of production

-the poor were deserving of their situation

why was malthus so concerned by population growth

-population growth would always outrun food production

-the poor should be neglected and therefore incentivised to survive

how did malthus and townsends views differ

malthus focused on birth into poverty being the most important issue

townsend thought the poor laws should be eradicated and the markets will reward the people who deserve it most

what did bentham believe

-utilitarianism

-pain/pleasure principle

-governemnt should promote what’s good for the largest amount of people

what is utiltarianism

maximising the overall happiness of everyone

reason based approach to determining right and wrong

what is the pain/pleasure principle

human nature is motivated by pain and pleasure

influenced the workhouses

when was the royal commission established

1 feb 1832

what was the royal commission

-nine commissioners sought to make recommendations for the poor law

-annual report found poor law system to be inadequate

recommended removal of outdoor relief and the creation of a central board

attitudes towards the poor in britain

poverty was the result of the weakness of character

deserving vs undeserving poor

what was the poor employment act 1817

made public money available to employ able-bodies paupers on public works such as road building

what did owen advocate for

child benefits 4 pounds per year for children under 14

education for children

equality of opportunity

what did paine advocate for

child benefits for 250,000 families

government should provide welfare

what did bentham advocate for

utilitarianism

pain/pleasure

less eligibility

life outside a workhouse should be more desirable than in one

who posed resistance to the poor law

-middle class

-politicians

-religious people

-the poor

-voters

why did people pose resistance to the poor law

-didnt help fix people

-tory paternalists

-morality

-brutal

-expensive

conditions at andover

-bare minimum food given

-solitary confinement

-meat eaten off of bone scraps

why was less eligibility too extreme

61 paupers sent to prison to avoid the workhouse 1837-46

what did the andover scandal reveal about the new poor law

-too heavy a focus on cutting costs

-lack of consistency

-harshness

-centred around costs not helping people

how did andover change gov and public attitudes

-forced gov to introduce some regulation e.g. poor law board

-society became more sympathetic to the poor

-workhouse visiting society

example of gov not changing after andover

another 100 workhouses were built after 1850

why were benthams ideas influential

-cheaper

-gets people into work

-harder to exploit

-fits with laissez faire ideology

workhouse conditions

-heads shaved

-families seperated

-negligence of the sick

-inmates poorly fed

what did thomas carlyle believe

-need for profound reform to address the growing disparity

-hierachal social structure

impact of carlyle’s writings

highlighted the reality of poverty

who was henry mahew

-investigating and gathering evidence on the real causes of poverty

-statistics

-conducted hundreds of interviews

impact of thomas mahew

-statistical evidence

-raised money and donated to the poor

-’london labour and the london poor’

impact of dickens

-experienced it himself and focused on changing life for children

-his novels were read by both rich and poor

-social commentary

impact of elizabeth gaskell

-realistic insight into industrial manchester

-gritty realism

-shocked society

impact of samuel smiles

-self help

-new ideology

-led to a belief that those in poverty could help themselves

impact of octavia hill

philanthropic builder of houses and protector of green spaces

3 problems with the workhouse

expensive

overcrowded

hygenine

who was greenwood

wrote the 1866 article ‘a night in the workhouse’

provided shocking insight into life in the workhouse

what were the four types of resistance

tory paternalism

riots

the book of murder

abstention

why did tory paternalists resist

-general sense of partisanship

-objected to the centralised nature of the system

-felt the board of governors undermined local magistrates

successes of tory paternalism

-helped within parlaiment

-prompted the Times to run an ongoing debate over the legislation

weaknesses of tory paternalism

-too fearful of the increasing role of gov

-built 100 more workhouses

reasons for riots

motivated by the sense that gov were only interested in saving money

successes of the riots

-widespread

-workhouse in suffolk attacked by a mob of 200

weaknesses of the riots

achieved little

Riot Act resulted in arrests

weaknesses of the book of murder

content lacked credibility

reasons for northern resistance and abstention

-defense of the old system

-new poor law didnt address their situation due to seasonal unemployment

successes of northern resistance and abstention

organised by experienced men e.g. Oastler

public speakers and articles

organised means of challenge

who was louisa twinning

-rich daughter of a tea merchant

-interest in workhouses and their inmates

-established the workhouse visiting society 1857

who was Sophia De Morgan

came from a family of intellectuals

founded bedford college in 1849

higher education for women

set up a committee of ladies who reguarly visited the wards of workhouses

who was angela Burdett couts

rich upper class

friend of dickens

opened Ourania Cottage in 1847 for poor women

what was the huddersfield scandal 1848

-exposed as being particularly bad at caring for its inmates

-lice in beds, dead bodies not removed

-led to detailed inspections of workhouses

what was the metropolitan poor act 1867

medical facilities had to be separate from the workhouse

creation of metropolitan asylum board which cared for sick paupers

examples of charity

charity organisation board

great ormond street

what was the charity organisation board

ensured charity was only granted to ‘genuine’ cases after and investigation of the claimants circumstances