19.P Attitudes To The Poor Change 1785-1834 Flashcards
What are the factors for this question?
Government
Middle class
Ideologies
Government
When was poor relief established (hadn’t changed since then)?
1601
Government
What did the 1782 Gilbert’s Act do?
Allowed parishes to group together to build workhouses
Government
When was the Poor Employment Act? What did it do?
1817
To finance public works projects to create employment
Government
What system caused the 1830/31 Swing Riots?
Speenhamland (employers lowered wages)
Government
Between 1815-33, how much of GNP was taken up by poor relief? What did it cost annually?
2% GNP
Over £5.7 million
Government
When was the PLAA passed? What did it do?
Created a central board, favoured the principle of less eligibility, moved away from outdoor relief. Education in workhouses (Gressenhall workhouse 80 kids, 1 teacher)
Middle class
Between 1816 and 1831 what had the middle class risen by? What did they want?
160,000 to 214,000
To be taken seriously by the government
Middle class
Who created New Lanark? When? What was the problem with this?
Robert Owen 1795
Owen’s morals were in the minority
Middle class
When was Ricardos wage fund theory published? What did it suggest?
1817
That there was a fixed pot of wages that poor relief was draining
Ideologies
What was Utilitarianism? Who promoted it?
Greatest happiness for greatest number
Bentham and Chadwick
Ideologies
What did Bentham’s ‘Pauper Management Improved’ essay promote? When was it published?
1798
10% of the population placed in workhouses would maximise profits
Ideologies
What did Chadwick do that led to the 1834 poor law?
1832 Royal Commission into the Operation of the Poor Laws
Ideologies
What did individualism promote?
Wanted to abolish all poor relief to encourage “self help”
Ideologies
How did Thomas Malthus promote individualism?
His ‘First Essay on Population 1798’ encouraged the removal of poor relief to let all the paupers die to deal with overpopulation
