Cost As The Most Significant Cause Of Poor Relief?

Question 1

What changes were made to the old poor law

Answer 1

-‘Less eligibility’
- discouraged outdoor relief for the able bodied
- setting up a central authority - the poor law commission- to oversee the new legislation

Question 2

What changes were made to the old poor law

Answer 2

-‘Less eligibility’
- discouraged outdoor relief for the able bodied
- setting up a central authority - the poor law commission- to oversee the new legislation

Question 3

How many soldiers returned from war in 1815

Answer 3

40,000

Question 4

Why was the old poor law changed

Answer 4

Gov. Felt the poor were taking advantage and the system was very outdated as the population had risen due to industrialisation

Question 5

Why did some parishes keep outdoor relief

Answer 5

In 1862 it cost 4s and 8d to keep a pauper but only 3d to keep a pauper on outdoor relief. Economic historian estimates it cost 50-100% more to have a pauper on indoor relief than outdoor relief

Question 6

What replaced the poor law commision

Answer 6

The poor law board in 1847

Question 7

Outdoor labour test order

Answer 7

To force perople who are temporarily out of work into work houses seemed impractical therefore gov allowed outdoor relief for the able bodied poor (1842)

Question 8

Angela Burdett-Couts

Answer 8

Took particular intrest in finding work for pauper children.
Co-founded urina cottage with charles dickens

Question 9

Charitable organisation society

Answer 9

• 1869 - separated poor into ‘deserving’ and ‘underserving’. Allocated deserving poor to get long term help from the poor law board

Question 10

Metropolitan poor act

Answer 10

1867 - involved finding solutions for the poor rather than treating them as the problem

Question 11

Thomas Carlyle

Answer 11

-past and present 1843
- drew attention to the growing social class divide and referred to the workhouse as ‘poor law prisons’
- most interested in the spiritual growth of the country. Showed how far removed one another members of society has become

Question 12

Henry Mayhew

Answer 12

• ‘London labour and London poor’ which showed how the poor did want to get out of poverty but due to insufficient wages they weren’t able to.
• first person to provide evidence for this. In the immediate short term this reflected the growth of charity work houses and systematic inspections being introduced

Question 13

Charles Dickens

Answer 13

• forced into a workhouse age 12 so felt first hand realities of poverty which motivated him to give a voice to poorest in society
• wrote Oliver Twist 1837-39 which provided people with an image of life for the poorest in society.
• Oliver Twist was a serial novel which meant that a new chapter was released weekly making it cheaper for more people to read