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8/14/2019 How Was Poverty Dealt With in Britain
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How was Poverty Dealt With in the period 1800-1906?
Introduction
Poverty became a major problem in Britain during the time of the industrial
revolution with more people leaving villages and farms and moving to big cities, these
people were lured by the promises of better pay and better qualities of life and flocked
to the cities, on arriving, some did not immediately get jobs so started living in
crowded houses and slums that were very unhygienic.
The Relief of Poverty after 1834
19th-century British society was poor by modern standards. Most members of the
working classes were likely to be in poverty at some point in their lives because of
unemployment, sickness, old age and so on. They had to rely on their children, friends
or borrowed credit for help in times of hardship. The contemporary attitude was that
this was right and proper, because it encouraged the poor to work.
Destitution was felt to be the result of character weakness. This attitude led to the
1834 Poor Law Amendment Act. It was believed that those in need of serious help
would accept the workhouse. However, the demoralising effects of the old Poor Law
were not as bad as they were made out to be.
The new Poor Law was seen as the final solution to the problem of extreme poverty,
but it did not work. It improved neither the material nor moral condition of the
working class, however, it was less brutal than its opponents described. The 1834
Poor Law Amendment Act was ruthlessly enforced in rural southern England as soon
as it was passed, and was very unpopular. It was not implemented in the north until
later on.
In 1837 anti-Poor Law propaganda reached its highpoint when attempts were made to
form Unions in the industrial north. The Anti-Poor Law Movement was formed in
Lancashire and the West Riding, led by Oastler, Fielden and Stephens. The new Poor
Law was attacked in the press and on the platform.
1837 also saw the start of the 'Hungry 40s', beginning with a trade depression.
Industrial workers feared the workhouse which they called the Poor Law 'Bastilles'.
There were riots in Bradford (1837) and Dewsbury (1838), the 1834 Poor Law
Amendment Act was one of the causes of northern Chartism. Sir Charles Napier and
his troops were based in the north of England to deal with the Chartist threat but
Napier was sympathetic towards them and blamed the Poor Law Amendment Act for
much of the trouble.
Administrators of the old relief system were outraged at the interference of central
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government because they felt the old system worked well. They said that there were
too little able bodied poor when trade was good, and too many for even the biggest
workhouse when trade was bad. The Poor Law protectors hampered the
implementation of the Poor Law Amendment Act.
The Poor Law Commission concentrated too much on the rural able-bodied poor.They paid too little regard to problems of pauperisation caused by:
Physical/mental ill-health
Old age
Loss of parents
These three groups were the largest sections of the community receiving relief. The
Commission did not try to deal with the problem of urban poverty.
Those sent to workhouses usually were unable to look after themselves: the old, the
sick and the young. One large workhouse was favoured because it was cheaper but it
also led to abuses such as the Andover scandal of 1845-6. Conditions varied from
workhouse to workhouse. The Poor Law Amendment Act came into force on 21
August 1834 and was specifically aimed at discouraging people from applying for
relief.
Between 1834- 1847 the central board was called the Poor Law Commission but after
1847 it was called the Poor Law Board. The Board had overall responsibility for
relief, and its headquarters was at Somerset House. The first Commissioners were
Shaw-Lefevre, Frankland Lewis and George Nicholls. Their secretary was Edwin
Chadwick.
Parishes were linked into Unions, each Union controlling relief in its area, hopefully
with one large workhouse. Boards of Guardians were elected by ratepayers. They
supervised daily matters of relief and were helped by paid experts. By 1838, the
Assistant Commissioners had incorporated 13,427 (of 15,000) parishes into 573
Unions. By 1868 the whole country had been finally unionised. Virulent objections to
workhouses were not sustained for long because:
The economy improved
Chartism distracted attention
Chadwick's doctrinaire influence waned after 1841
The Poor Law Amendment Act treated the symptoms, not the causes of poverty
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http://ds.dial.pipex.com/town/terrace/adw03/peel/poorlaw/antiplm.htm
http://www.fairhall.id.au/resources/journey/poorlaw%201834.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/business/05/breadlinebritain/html/default.stm
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Revision:The_State_and_the_Poor_in_Britai
n_1830-1939
http://dialspace.dial.pipex.com/town/terrace/adw03/peel/poorlaw/poorlaw.htm
Key Individuals Involved How Did The
Government Help?
The Role Of Charities The Role Of the
Workhouse
Richard Oastler
(1789-1861)
John Fielden (1784-
1849)
William Busfeild
Ferrand (1809-
1889)
Joseph Rayner
Stephens(1805-1879)
To curb the growing rates
of poverty, thegovernment brought in
new laws, examples are:
In 1833, Children
under 9 were banned
from working in
textile mills. Children
aged 9 to 13 were not
allowed to work for
more than 12 hours a
day or a total of more
than 48 hours a week.Children aged 13 to 18
must not work for
more than 69 hours a
week.
The 1834 Poor
Law Amendment Act
In 1875 the
Artisan's Dwellings
Act was passed which
gave councils the
power to demolish
slums.
The government also
introduced the concept of
the workhouse which was
not too popular
http://ds.dial.pipex.com/town/terrace/adw03/peel/poorlaw/antiplm.htmhttp://www.fairhall.id.au/resources/journey/poorlaw%201834.htmhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/business/05/breadlinebritain/html/default.stmhttp://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Revision:The_State_and_the_Poor_in_Britain_1830-1939http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Revision:The_State_and_the_Poor_in_Britain_1830-1939http://dialspace.dial.pipex.com/town/terrace/adw03/peel/poorlaw/poorlaw.htmhttp://dialspace.dial.pipex.com/town/terrace/adw03/peel/people/stephbio.htmhttp://dialspace.dial.pipex.com/town/terrace/adw03/peel/people/stephbio.htmhttp://dialspace.dial.pipex.com/town/terrace/adw03/peel/people/stephbio.htmhttp://void%280%29/http://dialspace.dial.pipex.com/town/terrace/adw03/peel/people/stephbio.htmhttp://dialspace.dial.pipex.com/town/terrace/adw03/peel/people/stephbio.htmhttp://dialspace.dial.pipex.com/town/terrace/adw03/peel/people/stephbio.htmhttp://ds.dial.pipex.com/town/terrace/adw03/peel/poorlaw/antiplm.htmhttp://www.fairhall.id.au/resources/journey/poorlaw%201834.htmhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/business/05/breadlinebritain/html/default.stmhttp://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Revision:The_State_and_the_Poor_in_Britain_1830-1939http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Revision:The_State_and_the_Poor_in_Britain_1830-1939http://dialspace.dial.pipex.com/town/terrace/adw03/peel/poorlaw/poorlaw.htm8/14/2019 How Was Poverty Dealt With in Britain
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