Poverty and Pauperism Flashcards
To carry out the poor law amendment act 1834, the central board had to included what?
any parishes they thought were suitable for recommendation concerning the management of workhouses
New workhouses were only to be built?
if necessary
Annually, commissioners had to do what?
give a report to relevant secretaries on how well the act is working
Conditions in the workhouses were less appealing, why?
they were meant to discourage applicants
Anyone who refused to accept the workhouse life was deemed to have what?
failed the workhouse test
The central authority that was created by the act was known as what?
the poor law commissioners
Who was made secretary of commission?
Edwin Chadwick
How many commissioners were there, and how many assistance commissioners were there?
3 commissioners
9 assistance commissioners
What did the commissioners do?
they ensured that all central decisions were carried out around the country
Which practice before 1934 was to be restricted and eventually abolished?
the practice of providing self relief to able-bodied paupers outside the workhouse
Why were they going to abolish self relief?
to ensure that those who failed the workhouse test would not be entitled to any poor relief.
Under the old Poor law, how many parishes had been responsible for the relief of poverty in the area?
15,000 parishes
The PLAA started to amalgamate parishes into groups of how many?
30
What was intended to be banned?
outdoor relief
Relief was handed out at the discretion of who?
the local guardians
Relief was often granted, even to who?
people who had a house
Why was providing outdoor relief the better option?
cheaper, workhouses were incredibly expensive to run
By 1862, how much did it cost to keep a pauper?
4s 8d
By 1862, how much did it cost to provide outdoor relief per week?
2s 3d
Why was there significant employment opportunities in the north?
because of growing industries
Why did guardians resist demands to build expensive workhouses?
because poverty works on a cycle based on seasonal employment, and fluctuations in the economy
How much did it cost to pen a workhouse at Banbury?
£6200
Where would the need for outdoor relief be needed the most?
in rural areas where poor rate had been consistently higher.
How much is it believed that indoor relief costs more than out door relief?
50-100%
Why did the PLAA not achieve success?
because there were such diverse attitudes across the country, it also didn’t reduce the issue of pauperism.
What else caused the downfall of the PLAA?
significant loopholes which allowed local guardians to act contrary to the law
The level of opposition in Yorkshire and Lancashire allowed what by 1838?
Allowed the poor law commission to use old methods should the need arise (i.e. allow outdoor relief)
Why did many paupers feel that the law was not applicable to them, and why did they ignore it?
because the Lae was not applied consistently across the country?
What did the board of Guardians rule that all unmarried mothers should wear?
a yellow stripe as a symbol of shame
How were the workers of the Andover workhouse treated badly?
the inmates were systematically underfed, even children’s milk was watered down
What did M’Dougal do to the women?
he drank heavily and assaulted the women, his 17 year old son was accused of sexual abuse too
What was the punishment for children who had wet the bed?
they were flogged for bed wetting
Why did M’Dougal give inmates reduced rations
so that he could buy extra food for his family
Why was bone crushing a bad job?
it was unpleasant and unhygienic, workers were scraping out the bone marrow because they were so hungry
What did children eat at Andover due to being so hungry?
raw potato scraps that had been thrown out for the pigs
Where would M’Dougal make inmates spend the night as punishment?
in the mortuary
Why was M’Dougal forced to resign and what was his punishment?
he was under investigation, he didn’t receive any punishment
Who wrote Oliver Twist in 1837?
Charles Dickens
Which magazine was Oliver Twist first published in?
Bentley’s Miscellany
Who published a self help book in 1859 which talked about the importance of thrift and industry, placing individual determination to improve oneself as the single most important element in achieve success?
Samuel Smile
Who’s work which was published in 1843, drew attention to the growing class divide within Britain by describing the workhouses as “Poor Law Prison”?
Thomas Carlyle
What was the name of Thomas Carlyle’s work?
“Past and Present”
What did Henry Mayhew’s empirical work produce?
a 4-volume work which catalogued in more than 2 million word the experiences of Britain poor
What did Henry Mayhew’s work show?
it showed how insufficient wages made people dependent upon relief.
What did meticulous research find?
showed that the poor wanted to earn their way out but were unable to do so
What did the research force?
• Forced middle class Victorians to consider an alternative about how to treat the poor and led growth in charity work.
Who’s book “Mary Barton, published in 1848, contributed to growing awareness of poverty and showed the lives of the working class and their difficult existence named the smokestacks of Manchester?
Elizabeth Gaskell
What did Elizabeth Gaskell’s work offer?
offered a realistic impression of the poor classes in Britain
