Britain - Poverty and Pauperism

Question 1

What impact did population growth have on local parishes regarding poor relief?

Answer 1

Population growth increased pressure and demand on local parishes to provide poor relief.

Question 2

How had poor relief changed since the 1601 Law?

Answer 2

Poor relief had barely changed and still relied on local responsibility, with the parish of birth administering it.

Question 3

What did the 1662 Act of Settlement define?

Answer 3

It defined membership to a parish as being either born there or residing there for over a year.

Question 4

How did the rules for poor relief vary across parishes?

Answer 4

Each parish had its own rules, leading to national inconsistency in dealing with pauperism.

Question 5

What was the most common form of parish support?

Answer 5

Outdoor relief, where parishes gave paupers money, food, or clothes instead of placing them in a poorhouse.

Question 6

What did the 1723 ‘Workhouse Test’ Law stipulate?

Answer 6

It required claimants of poor relief to enter a workhouse and undertake work to prevent irresponsible claims.

Question 7

When was the ‘Workhouse Test’ Law introduced?

Answer 7

1723

Question 8

How many poorhouses existed by 1776, and what was their impact?

Answer 8

There were 2000 poorhouses, each with 20-50 inmates, leading to high expenses and the 1782 Gilbert’s Act.

Question 9

What was the Speenhamland system?

Answer 9

A system where the value of relief given was based on the cost of a gallon loaf of bread, topping up the wages of the poor.

Question 10

What was the Roundsman system?

Answer 10

A system where locals employed paupers on reduced wages, with the parish topping up these wages

Question 11

What did the Labour Rate involve?

Answer 11

It was a separate fund paid to paupers working on behalf of the parish.

Question 12

Who collected and distributed the Poor Rate?

Answer 12

Voluntary ‘Overseers of the Poor’ under the parish Justice of the Peace (JP).

Question 13

What led to the creation of parish committees in 1818/1819?

Answer 13

The existing systems were unsustainable and there was a need to formalise poor relief processes.

Question 14

How did industrialisation and the war with France affect poor relief?

Answer 14

They increased the cost of living and made the Speenhamland System difficult to sustain.

Question 15

What was the outcome of the 1832 Royal Commission?

Answer 15

It recommended removing outdoor relief, creating punishing workhouses, and a central board to oversee the system.

Question 16

How did attitudes towards the poor influence poor relief?

Answer 16

The prosperous industrial middle-class viewed the poor with a moralistic attitude, seeing poverty as a result of weakness of character.

Question 17

What were the two categories of the poor by the late 1700s?

Answer 17

The ‘deserving’ (unable to help themselves) and the ‘undeserving’ (able-bodied but often unable to find work).

Question 18

What ideological pressures influenced poor relief policies?

Answer 18

The ideas of Thomas Malthus, Joseph Townsend, and Jeremy Bentham, who all argued against extensive poor relief.

Question 19

What financial pressures led to changes in poor relief by 1833?

Answer 19

The unsustainable parish-based system and vocal demands from ratepayers and influential figures for a more efficient system.

Question 20

What did the Gilbert Act of 1782 change about poorhouses?

Answer 20

It restricted admissions to poorhouses to only orphaned children or those physically impaired, while able-bodied paupers had to look after themselves.

Question 21

When was the Gilbert Act introduced?

Answer 21

1782

Question 22

How did the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act (New Poor Law) alter poor relief?

Answer 22

It made workhouses the main part of poor relief, eliminating outdoor relief systems like Speenhamland, Roundsman, and Labour Rate.

Question 23

When was the Poor Law Amendment Act (New Poor Law) introduced?

Answer 23

1834

Question 24

What was the principle of ‘less eligibility’ under the 1834 New Poor Law?

Answer 24

Conditions inside workhouses were made worse than outside to deter all but the most desperate from seeking relief.

Question 25

How were existing parishes reorganised under the New Poor Law?

Answer 25

Approximately 15,000 parishes were grouped into 600 larger unions of workhouses, and 350 new workhouses were built by 1839.

Question 26

Describe the conditions and purpose of workhouses.

Answer 26

Workhouses were basic and unpleasant to keep costs low and serve as a deterrent. They promoted morality and depersonalisation, separating families and providing minimal diets.

Question 27

Why did the principle of ‘less eligibility’ fail?

Answer 27

Workhouses were always filled due to poor wages, cold winters, and economic fluctuations, showing that people were desperate.

Question 28

Did outdoor relief continue after the 1834 New Poor Law?

Answer 28

Yes, it largely continued because local guardians found it more cost-effective than running workhouses.

Question 29

How did the cost of indoor relief compare to outdoor relief by 1862?

Answer 29

It cost twice as much to keep a pauper in a workhouse than to support them through outdoor relief.

Question 30

Why was there resistance to funding workhouses in the North and South?

Answer 30

In the North, poverty was cyclical, and workhouses were seen as unsustainable. In the South, indoor relief was 50-100% more expensive than outdoor relief.

Question 31

How did the Poor Law Commission respond to mass disobedience regarding indoor relief?

Answer 31

In 1838, they officially sanctioned outdoor relief.

Question 32

Why was the New Poor Law criticised ideologically?

Answer 32

Many thought it was excessively severe and did not address the actual problem of poverty.

Question 33

What was the stance of ‘The Times’ newspaper on the New Poor Law?

Answer 33

It publicly criticised the New Poor Law in April 1834.

Question 34

Why did the Tories oppose the New Poor Law?

Answer 34

They saw it as undermining local magistrates and were against increased government intervention.

Question 35

What did William Cobbett believe about the 1834 Act?

Answer 35

He believed it treated claimants like criminals and abandoned the mutualistic relationship between the rich and poor.

Question 36

What were some notable riots against the New Poor Law?

Answer 36

Riots occurred in East Anglia, East Kent, Suffolk, and the Ampthill Parish Union, with slogans like “money or blood.”

Question 37

How did resistance to the New Poor Law differ between the North and South?

Answer 37

The South was more submissive, while the North saw widespread, organised resistance.

Question 38

What role did MPs and journalists play in the Anti-Poor Law Movement?

Answer 38

MPs like Richard Oastler and Michael Sadler gave credibility, and journalists circulated anti-poor law propaganda.

Question 39

How did economic conditions contribute to resistance in the North?

Answer 39

The 1837 trade depression and mass unemployment led to aggressive reactions and riots like those in Bradford.

Question 40

What was the outcome of resistance to the New Poor Law by 1839?

Answer 40

The government compromised, removing the ban on outdoor relief, leading to the collapse of the Anti-Poor Law Movement.

Question 41

What remained the most common form of relief across Britain despite the New Poor Law?

Answer 41

Outdoor relief remained the most common form of relief.

Question 42

What was the ‘Less eligibility’ doctrine, and how did it affect workhouse environments?

Answer 42

It encouraged deliberately harsh workhouse environments to deter claimants, but some workhouses, like Andover, went too far.

Question 43

How was Andover Workhouse run under Colin McDougal?

Answer 43

Colin McDougal, a former military sergeant-major, and his wife ran it like a prison camp, with limited diets leading to starvation, making inmates eat with their fingers, and not providing extra food provisions during special occasions.

Question 44

Why were the low food costs at Andover Workhouse initially approved by the Board of Guardians?

Answer 44

The low food costs kept the Poor Rate low, pleasing the Board of Guardians.

Question 45

What extreme measures did inmates at Andover Workhouse take to escape?

Answer 45

Between 1837-1846, 61 paupers committed offences to be sent to prison, which was more humane than the workhouse.

Question 46

What desperate actions did inmates take due to starvation at Andover Workhouse?

Answer 46

They were forced to eat meat left on bones they had crushed for work and suck marrow from bones, often fighting over the meatiest bones.

Question 47

What happened when rumours of mistreatment at Andover Workhouse spread in 1844-45?

Answer 47

The guardians did little beyond banning bone crushing in hot weather, as they prioritised low costs over inmate wellbeing.

Question 48

Who reported the Andover Workhouse conditions, and what was the outcome?

Answer 48

Local Poor Law Guardian Hugh Mundy reported it to MP Thomas Wakely, leading to an investigation by Henry Parker, confirming severe abuses including McDougal’s abuse of female inmates.

Question 49

What was the public and political reaction to the Andover Workhouse scandal?

Answer 49

There was a public outcry, with heavy coverage by ‘The Times,’ leading to the replacement of the Poor Law Commission by the Poor Law Board in 1846.

Question 50

How did the Andover Workhouse scandal impact future poor relief policies?

Answer 50

It softened the punitive approach against paupers and encouraged social responsibility, though workhouses remained central to poor relief.

Question 51

How did Thomas Carlyle contribute to the discourse on poor relief?

Answer 51

Thomas Carlyle published “Past and Present”, criticising the growing class divide and workhouses, which he called “Poor Law Prisons.” He argued that punitive treatment of the poor hindered spiritual growth. His ideas were influential among the middle-class and later inspired their involvement in charity.

Question 52

When did Thomas Carlyle publish “Past and Present”?

Answer 52

1843

Question 53

What was Henry Mayhew’s approach to understanding poverty, and what impact did his work have?

Answer 53

Henry Mayhew used empirical research, conducting interviews with paupers, and published “London Labour and London Poor”. His work challenged the belief that idleness and moral failings caused poverty, instead highlighting insufficient wages. This encouraged scientific investigations and charitable actions.

Question 54

When did Henry Mayhew publish “London Labour and London Poor”?

Answer 54

1851

Question 55

How did Charles Dickens portray the workhouse system in his novels?

Answer 55

Charles Dickens, drawing from personal experience, depicted workhouses as places of despair and punishment in novels like “Oliver Twist” (1838) and “Nicholas Nickleby” (1839). His works kept the plight of the poor in public discourse, making these issues accessible and pertinent to a broad audience.

Question 56

What themes did Elizabeth Gaskell explore in her novels, and how were they received?

Answer 56

Elizabeth Gaskell exposed the difficult lives of the working-class in Manchester in novels like “Mary Barton” (1848) and highlighted the social divide in “North and South” (1854). Her realistic portrayals were widely received and popular.

Question 57

What solution did Samuel Smiles propose for addressing poverty, and how was it received?

Answer 57

Samuel Smiles proposed the idea of “self-help” in his 1859 book “Self Help,” emphasising individual determination and improvement. It was well-received by the industrial middle-class and became a framework for reform adopted by the Charity Organisation Society after 1869.

Question 58

What overall shift in poor relief philosophy occurred by the late 19th century?

Answer 58

The early idea of “less eligibility,” which created harsh conditions to deter poor relief claims, was replaced by the social idea of “self-help,” promoting individual improvement and reducing dependency on charity or workhouses.