Unit 3.3 Paupers & Pauperism 1780-1832 Flashcards
Poverty
Households that earn below 60% of the median income meaning that they cannot enjoy the standard things that other people can
Factors that lead to poverty today and in history?
War e.g. Boer War - tax increases to pay for the debt made during war
Disease - cannot work - due to pollution and less germ knowledge
Industrial Revolution replacing some jobs
Societal hierarchy and what class youre born into and discrimination between classes
Corruption in government & capitalism
Who is responsible for looking after the poor in history?
Government - ministry of health
Charities and philanthropists
Councils and parishes
Normal people and tax payers (indirectly) as they pay tax to support the poor
Who mainly helped the poor before 1834?
The parish
Church
Who was deserving of support?
Those were living in poverty or those who couldn’t work
Who wasnt deserving of support? Why?
Those who had work or those who could work but didnt want to - it was seen as a sin to not work when you could
What were the roles of the parish?
They set the poor rate
Determined who was eligible for relief
Decided what sort of relief should be given
Poor rate
Compulsory tax which was used to provide relief for the poor
Who determined how much relief was given to people?
Church wardens, local farmers or respectable home owners - they were unpaid, non professionals - overseers of the poor
What was the role of the overseers of the poor?
They were the people who determined how much relief was given to people
Who appointed the overseers of the poor?
The local justices of peace appointed 1-2 every year
What was settlement act in the 1600s? What year was it?
1662 - It said the parish responsible for giving relief was the one where the person was born, married, served an apprenticeship or inherited property and you could only get help from them
Why was the settlement act introduced?
So that people couldn’t travel around and get support from different parishes or there would be an unequal distribution of support
What was a parish?
Parish = local council
Good things about the system of looking after the poor until 1834?
It was controlled by lower class - understood the people who needed relief
Overseers were frequently replaced - so that no one began to exploit the handling of the support
Local people ran the system - saw the needs of the people in the area
Poor rates were spent by parish on local needs - different types of poverty in different areas so all needed different things
Problems with the system of looking after the poor until 1834?
Overseers were not skilled and had no experience
Others funded the relief for the poor - created anger and resentment between classes
Settlement act of 1662 was difficult to enforce with a population that was frequently moving to industrial towns by the 1700s - urbanisation
Local crisis’s (e.g. bad harvest) may have affected the relief given to the poor
Pauper
Someone who received poor relief
Indigent
People unable to support themselves
5 groups that paupers were categorised into?
Deserving poor
Undeserving poor
Impotent poor
Idle poor
Able bodied poor
Deserving poor
People who were poor based on no fault of their own and were therefore worthy of relief
Examples of those who were considered deserving poor?
Elderly, sick, children
Undeserving poor
Those whose poverty was as a result of some perceived moral failure such as drunkenness or prostitution - it was said that their poverty was as punishment from God
Impotent poor
Paupers who could not look after themselves even when times were good
Examples of those classified as impotent poor?
Disabled people
Elderly
What support would impotent people receive?
Food
Clothing
You’d be put into a poor house
Idle poor
Those who refused to work and lived a life of begging or crime
Where would the idle poor be put?
Correction houses
Able bodied poor
Paupers who wanted relief but were able to work
What relief was given to the able bodied poor
Food
Clothing
They’d be put in a workhouse
Given apprenticeships
Workhouse
A place where paupers worked, and in exchange were given a place to live and were given food
Poorhouse
A place where paupers lived and were looked after, it was paid for by the parish
When was the Elizabethan poor law (poor relief act) (old poor law) introduced?
1601
When was the Elizabethan poor law replaced?
1834 - it lasted 233 years but amendments were made to it
Indoor relief
Relief provided to paupers inside a workhouse or inside a different place but not inside their own homes
Almshouse
It was owned by the church and was a place where paupers could live for free
4 reasons why was indoor relief attractive for parishes?
- It was cheaper to run than outdoor relief
- Workhouses could sell the work that the inmates made which made the poor self supporting
- Paupers were put off entering workhouses which was intensified by the ‘workhouse test act’ of 1723 that said conditions in a workhouse must be less comfortable than on the outside - meant that only the truly poor wanted to go in and less wanted relief in general
- Parishes could amalgamate with other parishes to provide support - became known as unions
What is an example of parishes that amalgamated?
Bristol and Exeter
By what year had half of the parishes in Suffolk joined together to provide indoor relief?
By 1780, half of the parishes in Suffolk had joined together to provide indoor relief
What year was the workhouse test act introduced?
The workhouse test act was introduced in 1723
By the end of the 18th century how many parishes were running their own workhouses? What does this show?
By the end of 18th century, 1 in 7 parishes were running their own workhouses - shows the idea of indoor relief was popular amongst the parishes in England and Wales for many reasons
How many workhouses and workhouse inmates were there by the end of the 18th century?
There were 2000 workhouses providing relief for 90,000 inmates by the end of the 18th century
What specifically was offered in indoor relief?
Food
Shelter/a place to live
Work
Apprenticeships
Education to children - educating them to work in specific jobs
What 4 types houses could paupers be put in as part of indoor relief?
Poorhouses
Workhouses
Almshouses
Houses of correction
What category of pauper lived in a poorhouse?
Impotent poor
What category of pauper lived in an almshouse?
Impotent poor
What category of pauper lived in a workhouse?
Able bodied poor
What category of pauper lived in a house of correction?
Idle poor
When was indoor relief introduced?
1601
What ages of people were in the St Albans workhouse?
Twenty 50-80 year olds
4-14 year old boys and girls
Did the desire for indoor relief rise? When?
Yes, the desire for indoor relief rose rapidly between 1601 to 1834
What was the most popular form of relief? Indoor or outdoor?
Outdoor relief even though indoor relief rose rapidly
Outdoor relief
Where paupers stayed in their homes but received support
What are 2 examples of early workhouses?
1628 - Readings and Sheffields first work house
1650 - London first work house
What were 2 workhouse administrative changes?
The poor relief act (Gilberts act)
Sturges-Bourne reforms
Gentry
People of the upper middle class like landowners
Vestry
A room attached to an Anglican Church where meetings are held
Who was Thomas Gilbert?
The head of over 60 gilbert union workhouses
He wanted them to be more cost effective and efficient
What year did Gilbert sponsor the poor relief act (Gilbert’s act)? What did this act show?
1782 - Gilbert sponsored the poor relief act (Gilbert’s act)
This act showed how the scope of indoor relief was expanded and also brought the gentry closer in involvement in poor relief administration