Government action: 1850-1875 Flashcards
What did The Public Health Act of 1848 say?
- A Board of Health should be set up in London with tree commissioners.
- These commissioners were Chadwick and Shaftesbury
- A town had to have a local board of health if death rate 23:1000 or 10% of voters wanted one.
- The local boards could make sure new houses were built with lavatories and drains.
- Rubbish was collected and streets were cleaned.
- This was to be done off local rates.
Why was The Public Health Act of 1848 ineffective?
- Did not force towns to make any changes.
- People did not want to pay for improvements.
- Chadwick annoyed people in high places: e.g. The editor of The Times. This led to strong opposition.
- Chadwick did not appreciate the need for good hospitals and doctors which needed to work with his methods of cleanliness and hygiene.
- The board of health was closed down in 1854.
What was wrong with Chadwick’s idea?
He believed in the miasma theory and so supported the dumping of waste in the Thames which caused more problems.
What started to happen in the 1860’s?
Housing acts began to be passed. This started slum clearance and set standards for construction of new houses.
What year was the Royal Sanitary Commission set up and what did it do?
In 1869 by Dr John Simon’s persuasion. It found that water provision was patchy and recommended laws be made which were ‘uniform, universal and imperative.’
What was set up in 1871?
The Local Government Board. Set up a national framework for improvement of public health.
What happened in 1858?
The Great Stink. Thames was so polluted and weather was so hot that parliament had to stop sitting.
What was the effect of The Great Stink?
A new system of sewers was begun in London by Joseph Bazalgette.
When was the Artisans Dwelling act introduced and what did it do?
In 1875.Allowed local councils to clear slum housing and replace it with good housing. Over 3000 slums were cleared.
What happened in 1884?
Most working class men got the vote. the government now had to pay more attention to the needs of the poor and the workers. From that date public health started to improve but the effects of poor public health were still present 30 years later.
What year did the Boer War bring to light and when?
In 1899. The army was recruiting soldiers and found that 90% of volunteers from some areas were unfit for military service.
Why was conservatism in the government defeated?
- The impact of Pasteur: 1861, published his germ theory. Proved it in 1864 with PUBLIC experiments. This showed that Chadwick and Snow had been correct in their arguments. People were more willing to pay tax to cover costs for PH reforms.
- The vote for working class men. Normally politicians only had to worry about pleasing the wealthy upper-class who voted for them. They were the ones who would have to pay for PH reform and they were pretty well off themselves in terms of Health.