Was the rising cost of the Poor Rate in the years 1815-33 the main reason for the reform of the old poor laws? Flashcards
What four factors need to be discussed?
1) rising cost of the poor rate
2) Ideological pressures
3) Failures of the old poor laws
4) Attitudes to poverty
Between 1815 and 1816 how many soldiers returned from the napoleonic wars?
400 000
During this time period what percentage of the country’s GNP had the poor rate risen to?
2%
1815-33 how many million pounds was spent on poor relief?
5.7 million
Who paid the highest rates for poor relief?
Those who were most influential
Name two individualists
Thomas Malthus and Joseph Townsend
Name two collectivists
Robert Owen and Thomas Paine
Name two utilitarians
Jeremy Bentham and Edwin Chadwick
When did Malthus writer his essay?
1798
What was Malthus’ essay called?
An essay on the Principle of Population
What did Malthus outline in his essay?
The Malthusian Catastrophe
What can collectivism be thought of as a precursor to?
Socialism
What phrase sums up utilitarianism?
Greatest happiness for the greatest number
What happened to the cost of poor rate when the economy improved?
Cost of poor rate went down
After 1824 and a period of better economic growth how much cheaper was poor rate per head?
2s 5d
What mean that the old poor law’s problems remained?
They were never replaced, the symptoms were instead addressed with further legislation
What did the fact that old poor laws were never replaced demonstrate?
That they were fundamentally flawed
What did many people believe about the poor?
They were poor because they were lazy
What were the two types of poor relief?
Indoor and outdoor
What were the two categories of poor?
Deserving and Undeserving
What was the movement that swept Europe that reduced christian values?
The Enlightenment
What ideology rose up?
Fatalism
Why was poverty viewed as essential?
It was viewed as an essential state to encourage hard work amongst the working classes.
Why did the poor have ever-more children?
A way to get more poor relief and also to look after their parents
What are the three different ideological pressures that need to be discussed?
Individualism, collectivism and utilitarianism
What did Malthus, an individualist, argue about poverty?
That a certain proportion of the population will always have to feel poverty in order for society to progress
Whose argument was very convenient to the ratepayers?
Malthus’s argument because it meant that they would have to pay less
How did Malthus argue that society would progress if the poor laws were completely abolished?
Ratepayers would become relieved of the burden of them
Why was Utilitarianism particularly influential?
its National Charity Company offered a clear blueprint for the reforms
Extra knowledge for the growth of towns contributing to the breakdown of the old system:
When the first census was taken in what year, what was the population and how did this relate to the poor law?
1801, the population was 9 million, more than double what it was when the Elizabethan Poor Law was established
Extra knowledge for the growth of towns contributing to the breakdown of the old system:
In urban areas, what were wages generally, quite a low figure?
12 shillings a week
Extra knowledge for the growth of towns contributing to the breakdown of the old system:
Contrast the amount of relief given to the North compared to the amount of relief given to the south
Between 1802 and 1803, 10% of people in the North received poor relief in contrast with 23% in the South. The South was much more rural and yet its need was not less, suggesting that the poor law was not well equipped for the changing environment.
