Poverty And Pauperism: Changing Attitudes To The Poor

Question 1

What was the 1846 Andover workhouse scandal?

Answer 1

Colin McDougal, who was running the institution, was found to be a drunken bully who inflicted a reign of terror on the poor. The poor were so desperately hungry that they were driven to eating the bone marrow off the bones they were supposed to be crushing. The children were also starved, being forced to eat the rotten potatoes aimed at feeding the pigs.

Question 2

When was the 1846 Andover workhouse scandal?

Answer 2

1846

Question 3

When was the 1848 Huddersfield workhouse scandal?

Answer 3

1848

Question 4

What wad the 1848 Huddersfield workhouse scandal?

Answer 4

A scandal that involved inmates sharing lice-ridden infirmary beds with dead bodies for months. Coupled with Andover, this led to an increase in charity work and governmental influence

Question 5

What was the impact of the Andover workhouse scandal? = creation of Poor Law Board

Answer 5

(a) CREATION OF POOR LAW BOARD
The Poor Law Commission was dissolved and replaced by a Poor Law Board. The extent of the outcry from the public, the media and parliament ensured this happened. The switch to a Poor Law Board ensured that government had greater power over the administration of poor relief with many MPs getting involved.

Question 6

What was the impact of the Andover workhouse scandal? = change in national opinion about the poor

Answer 6

The Andover Workhouse Scandal ensured that the Poor Law Commission was dissolved and marked a shift in national opinion regarding the nature of poverty and the best methods to address it. The 1834 amendment act had adopted the principle of deterrence. However, the main impact of the scandal at Andover was that the feeling of social responsibility returned to those in power, instead of the adoption of the view that the poor were simply indolent.

Question 7

What was the impact of the Andover workhouse scandal? = change in national opinion about the Poor Law system

Answer 7

The effects of Andover highlighted to this class how the new Poor Law wasn’t the ideal solution, that they were once of the working class and showed just how easily the system could be undermined without effective inspections. Before 1834, society could be criticised for excluding the poor but following the scandals, some middle class individuals began to take notice: for example, Henry Mayhew wrote a book ‘London Labour and the London Poor’ with the conclusion that poverty was caused by poor wages.

Question 8

What was the impact of the Andover workhouse scandal? = better attention placed upon the system

Answer 8

The establishment of groups such as the ‘Workhouse Visiting Society’ in 1858 made unofficial checks and inspections on the workhouses as part of their broader interest in distributing extra food and kind words of encouragement to those inside them. The information that this group collated was used to agitate for better treatment for the sick and the elderly and the group was only formed due to the appalling conditions revealed in the scandals of Andover and Huddersfield.

Question 9

What was the impact of the Andover workhouse scandal?

Answer 9

• better attention placed upon the system
• opinion changes about the Poor Law system
• opinion changes about the poor themselves
• the creation of the a Poor Law Board

Question 10

Why did attitudes to the poor change between 1834 and 1870?

Answer 10

• the impact of the Andover and Huddersfield workhouse scandals
• the creation of the self-help ideology
• the growth of charity and philanthropic enterprise
• the impact of individuals (Dickens, Mayhew, Gaskell, Smiles and Carlyle)

Question 11

What was the self-help idea?

Answer 11

The effort which the poor were supposed to put into lifting themselves out of their situation of poverty was termed ‘self-help’. If people were to avoid poverty, they had to make their own arrangements for when they fell upon hard times. In 1859, Samuel Smiles published his book, ‘Self-Help’ which became an immediate bestseller, presumably amongst the middle class as it argued in favour of their position in society. Through self-help it was possible to accumulate wealth without showing concern to your neighbours because the opportunity of self-help was available to them also.

Question 12

When was the 1869 Charity Organisation Charity inaugurated?

Answer 12

1869

Question 13

What was the 1869 Charity Organisation Charity

Answer 13

The creation of the Charity Organisation Society in 1869 was an embodiment of the self-help principle; its purpose was to recommend to the deserving poor the best methods to get themselves out of poverty. It rejected the practice of excessive assistance and believed that charity work encouraged dependence when it was done so indiscriminately. The society would only help those whose situations were extremely poor

Question 14

Why did the self-help ideas help change national opinion surrounding pauperism?

Answer 14

Through working with each deserving case and using the principle of self-help to support their improvement, the charity work that developed began to adopt a more thoughtful attitude towards pauperism. This rational approach replaced more emotionally driven judgments that had characterised early thinkers on poor relief, like David Ricardo and Thomas Malthus

Question 15

How did the growth in charity work change national opinions surrounding pauperism?

Answer 15

The introduction of the Workhouse Visiting Society ensured that people were beginning to attain a more accurate knowledge of the experiences of the paupers. Charities thus began to develop a more tailored system which began to focus on specific cases of poverty instead of the blanket response that the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act had offered.

Investigations throughout the 1860s found that it was mainly women and children in the workhouses so care was directed at these two groups. In 1865, the medical journal ‘The Lancet’ began an investigation into the quality of medical care in London workhouses; this led to the introduction of the Metropolitan Poor Act in 1867. The growth of charity ensured that specific cases were considered, a direct contrast to the old Poor Law which just encouraged the separation of the poor from society.

Question 16

When was the ‘Workhouse Visiting Society’ set up?

Answer 16

1858

Question 17

What did Thomas Carlyle do to change national opinions?

Answer 17

The Scottish writer wrote ‘Past and Present’ in 1843 which highlighted the growing divide between the classes in Britain. He referred to the workhouses as ‘Poor Law prisons’. Carlyle grew up a Calvinist and was influenced by the philosopher JS Mill. His ideas were particularly well read amongst the middle class who were becoming increasingly concerned about social stability.

Question 18

What did Henry Mayhew do to change national opinions?

Answer 18

The work of Mayhew was empirical as he investigated the lives of those in poverty. His work, ‘London Labour and London Poor’ consisted of 2 million words documenting the lives of the British poor. His work was influential in the Middle Class as it forced them to consider an alternative to their long held beliefs and, in the immediate term, increased the growth of charity work in the workhouses and the number of workhouse inspections.

Question 19

What did Charles Dickens do to change national opinions?

Answer 19

Dickens experienced poverty himself, with his parents being admitted into the workhouse. A common theme throughout Dickens’ works were that of starvation and a cruel master, especially in the novels Oliver Twist and A Christmas Carol. Dickens’ work was read by many people, as it was published as a serial novel which enabled it to be bought at a relatively low price. His works consistently reminded Victorian society about the existence of this lower class at a time when it was easy to forget them

Question 20

What did Elizabeth Gaskell do to change national opinions?

Answer 20

She wrote some novels, her most famous being ‘Mary Barton’ published in 1848 in which the story follows paupers living in Manchester. Her novels acquired interest as they offered a realistic impression of the experiences of the poorer classes of Britain. Writing these criticisms in the framework of fiction meant there was little controversy.

Question 21

What did Samuel Smiles do to change national opinions?

Answer 21

Smiles was the man credited with the principle of self-help which he advertised in his publication ‘Self-Help’. His work saw the introduction of groups like the Charity Organisation Society, encouraged belief in the individual and encouraged ratepayers as his theories would reduce rates if more people helped themselves in place of entering a workhouse institution.