4: The old Poor Law and pressures for change

Question 1

when did the state first take an interest in the poor?

Answer 1

under Elizabeth I during the 1500s

Question 2

1601 Poor Law Act

Answer 2

put responsibility for dealing with poverty onto the local parishes - anyone seeking support/relief were sent back to their birth parish.

Question 3

what did the 1601 poor law intend to do?

Answer 3

Intended to manage the growth of poverty to create social stability and prevent discontent spreading

Question 4

The 1601 Poor Law by the end of the 1700s

Answer 4

The system was under pressure due to a higher population putting a growing strain on parishes

Question 5

What did the 1601 poor law show a hint of?

Answer 5

government committment to address the issue of poverty. also that they recognised the dangers of excessive poverty (discontent/rioting/social instability)

Question 6

pre-1834, how did Poor Relief change/continue?

Answer 6

fundamental principles from 1601 remained the same by 1785.
relief still determined by parish (not gov), local responsibility favoured as best method, most common relief was outdoor.

Question 8

By 1785, how was the 1601 act becoming outdated?

Answer 8

With the growth of poorhouses and population. Also, many people were migrating due to industrialisation making it harder to seek relief in their birth parish.

Question 9

the most common relief was what in the 17/1800s?

Answer 9

outdoor - giving money/food/clothes to the poor

Question 10

Name 2 different systems which are examples of outdoor relief

Answer 10

Speedhamland and Roundsman

Question 11

Speedhamland system

Answer 11

came from Berkshire. Tied the amount of relief to the cost of a loaf of bread (e.g. when a loaf coast 1 shilling, a man would receive 3 shillings. If he had wife/children, it was 6). Adopted by many southern parishes and paid for by the Poor Rate.

Question 12

why was the Speedhamland system effective?

Answer 12

it was adopted by many southern parishes and began to establish some uniformity for poor relief.

Question 13

when was the Poor Rate established

Answer 13

1601 act

Question 14

what was the Roundsman system

Answer 14

sold pauper labour to employers (usually local farmers) at a reduced cost, with the difference made up from the Poor Rate.

Question 15

what was “auctioning of labour”

Answer 15

often within the Roundsman system.
Where prices varied according to nature of work and time of year. Labour was bought and sold here.

Question 16

what was the “Labour Rate”.

Answer 16

Separate fund from the Poor Rate. Money paid in and this was used to pay pauper to carry out work on behalf of the parish (e.g. road building).

Question 17

what were the systems and outdoor relief designed to do?

Answer 17

minimise burden on parish ratepayers.

Question 18

how was poor relief administered pre-1834?

Answer 18

administered by “Overseers of the Poor” who collected and distributed Poor Rate under the parish JP (Justice of the Peace).

Question 19

name one of the acts which created elected parish committees, and what this meant for the parish.

Answer 19

1818 Act for Regulation of Parish Vestries
Tightened up the qualification for relief and showed public awareness of poverty.

Question 20

why was poor relief efficacy limited pre-1834?

Answer 20

because of inconsistency. there was no co-ordinated country-wide response and each parish acted independently.

Question 21

5 reasons the problem of poor relief magnified

Answer 21

rapid population growth, impact of industrialisation and employment, during wars with France, post-wars with France, Corn Laws

Question 22

how did the rapid growth in population magnify the poor relief problem pre-1834 act?

Answer 22

9 million in 1801 (more than double than in 1601) which created an overwhelming demand for relief.

Question 23

How did the impact of industrialisation magnify the poor relief problem?

Answer 23

saw a reduction in employment opportunities as labour was replaced with machines. In the countryside, the already season-dependent employment was made more fragile by the introduction of labour-saving machines - meaning people applied for relief more frequently.

Question 24

when were the Napoleonic wars?

Answer 24

1793-1815

Question 25

how did the wars with france (up to 1815) cause a rise in poor relief and stress on the system?

Answer 25

caused a rise in the cost of living - making more people need relief. Due to the lack of foreign competition, bread prices rose a lot and people were forced to claim relief. The fact that the Speedhamland system was tied to bread prices placed a greater strain on available funds

Question 26

why did many criticise the Speedhamland system (2 reasons)

Answer 26

1. when the price of bread rose, there was a greater strain on the funds available. 2. it provided a lack of incentive as people could claim whenever they needed

Question 27

how did the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars cause an increase in the poor relief problem? (2 reasons)

Answer 27

british economy entered depression as trade was slow to redevelop 400,000 soldiers returned looking for work.

Question 28

how did the corn laws magnify the poor relief problem pre-1834

Answer 28

1815 laws. Keeping the price of bread high made unemployment worse (especially in rural areas).

Question 29

urban areas and poor relief

Answer 29

even though employment was more readily available, wages were very low (no more than 12 shillings a week) and during periods of economic decline, these concentrated numbers of temporarily unemployed overwhelmed the relief system, leading to discontent and rioting

Question 30

in 1802, what percentage of areas received what relief

Answer 30

10% of urban areas (mainly the north) received regular relief compared to 23% in the agricultural south

Question 31

when was the Royal Commission set up

Answer 31

February 1832

Question 32

what did the Royal Commission do?

Answer 32

sought to make recommendations for the improvement of the PL system. There were 9 commissioners (including Nassau Senior and Edwin Chadwick) who collected data and then wrote a report on the current system.

Question 33

what method did the Poor Law Commission use to collect information?

Answer 33

sending questionnaires to 15,000 parishes, although only 10% responded and the questions were criticised for being worded deliberately awkward.

Question 34

what did the Royal Commission’s final report find?

Answer 34

the system to be “woefully inadequate” in terms of effectiveness and cost, mainly due to the lack of uniformity and how easy it was to take advantage. They made a number of recommendations to improve the system, such as setting up a central board, removing outdoor relief and grouping together parishes.

Question 35

how did people view the poor?

Answer 35

society didn’t have a problem with poverty itself, as it was thought poverty was necessary to encourage hard work. By 1785, there were two groups - ‘deserving poor’ and ‘undeserving poor’.

Question 36

Difference between deserving and undeserving in their treatment

Answer 36

The ‘deserving’ often found room in a poorhouse, whereas the ‘undeserving’ were encouraged to find work and were provided with outdoor relief.

Question 37

what act was passed in 1817 to help the able-bodied poor?

Answer 37

Poor Employment Act 1817 - granted public money to employ the poor on public works (e.g. road building). Paid for by the Labour Rate.

Question 38

who was the head of utilitarianism

Answer 38

Jeremy Bentham - an English philosopher.

Question 39

which theory was especially popular with the growing middle class?

Answer 39

Bentham’s utilitarianism

Question 40

what was Bentham’s happiness theory

Answer 40

the belief that human nature was only motivated by pain and pleasure. Therefore, the government should promote the “greatest pleasure for the greatest number”.

Question 41

how did Bentham’s 1789 theory link to poverty? (3 things)

Answer 41

- he proposed the creation of a National Charity Company in 1796 to be responsible for the country’s poor. - - he proposed a harsh workhouse, so that it would encourage motivation for self-improvement. - His work influenced the Royal Commission by adding intellectual weight.

Question 42

how did Bentham talk about workhouses?

Answer 42

he said that they should be set up under the National Charity Company (which he also proposed in 1796) along the lines of his panopticon prison model. By putting paupers to work, they were contributing to society and would be motivated to self-improve when leaving.

Question 43

when did Bentham publish his theory

Answer 43

1789

Question 44

what was Ricardo’s theory

Answer 44

wage theory - that poor relief actually harmed the economy

Question 45

who criticised poor relief (two individuals)

Answer 45

Malthus and Townsend.

Question 46

what did Malthus say

Answer 46

that population grows exponentially, whereas food grows arithmetically. Therefore, populations will eventually outstrip the food supply. He wrote this in his 1798 essay “An Essay on the Principe of Population”

Question 47

what did Townsend write?

Answer 47

1786 - “Dissertation on the Poor Laws” Claimed that poor relief actively promoted worse characteristics by denying the full extent of the lesson that real poverty provided.

Question 48

which ideology was the most popular

Answer 48

the critical opinion (townsend/malthus) as when industrialisation continued, employment became more readily available, so paupers were seen as lazy and living off others’ generosity.

Question 49

generally, which political section wanted to maintain the current system?

Answer 49

paternalistic tories and humanitarians, who believed in social responsibility

Question 50

generally, which political section wanted to change the system a little?

Answer 50

tories who were worried about cost of current system

Question 51

generally, which political section wanted to radically transform the system

Answer 51

whigs (a response to the growth of influence of free market economics)

Question 53

who had a progressive opinion?

Answer 53

thomas paine and robert owen

Question 54

Thomas Paine

Answer 54

Rights of Man - says that it’s the government’s fault, not the people, for poverty. The gov. should plan for its people’s welfare. He suggested child benefits for under 14s and an over 50s pension programme.

Question 55

Robert Owen’s beliefs

Answer 55

He thought character was based on circumstance and people would help themselves if given the chance. For example, His model community at new Lanark provided education and good working conditions to “raise up” the working class.

Question 56

what did Robert Owen’s work inspire

Answer 56

His success caused an increase in cooperative movements, For example Titus Salt’s 1848 Saltaire.

Question 57

ideological pressures for change - which was more dominant?

Answer 57

The dominant ideology lay with more conservative thinkers (e.g. Malthus/Townsend) as placing the blame on the people led the government to continue with ‘laissez-faire’ism which influenced economic thought.

Question 58

Financial pressure for change - the end of the French Wars (3 things)

Answer 58

1. Military contracts Ended which affected manufacturing and 400,000 soldiers had to compete for work 2. Industries laid off excess workers as Britain entered a depression 3. Poor relief expenditure approached 2% of Britain’s Gross National Product

Question 59

the return of prosperity in the 1820s - continuing pressure for change

Answer 59

There was a decline in poor relief as the economy improved, roughly 2 shillings per person lower. However the rising number of low paid workers was still costing large sums in Poor Rate payments - in agriculture labourers were increasingly replaced by machines and in urban areas the markets controlled lives.

Question 61

financial pressure for change - the ratepayers

Answer 61

The ratepayers were reasonably influential figures who could also vote, as they had stable employment which allowed them to own/rent property. With the rising cost of the Poor Rate, they became increasingly vocal. Their arguments were given credibility by Ricardo’s wage fund theory (relief costs took money away from potential wages which harmed the economy)