The Poor Dbq

Throughout the fifteenth to eighteenth century nearly half of Europe's population lived a life of poverty with tensions growing along with the increasing economic inequality. Social class impacted the extent in which people sympathized with the poor along with their overall views ranging from seeing the poor as nuisances, responsibilities or even leverage. Many influential figures utilized their position to provide assistance to the poor. A fifteenth Catholic priest from France urges his congregation to donate to the poor because he wishes to reach to the poverty stricken majority and spread the appeal of Catholicsm (Doc 1). Throughout the fifteenth century the Great Schism occurred in which several men claimed legitimacy as the Pope and …show more content…

William Turner, an English doctor believe the poor choose to live in poverty because he has limited contact with the lower classes and thus relies on prejudices and generalizations (Doc 6). Being the personal physician to the Earl of Somerset, Turner would have spent his time amongst the upper classes and would likely have little knowledge on those he perceived to be lower. Rather than learning from personal experience, Turner would have learned from the prejudices of others and rely on false information. Poorhouse regulations see the poor as uncivilized because of their position of authority and the perceived inferiority of the impoverished (Doc 7). These attitudes are similar to those developed by the participants of the Zimbardo prison study in 1972. The Zimbardo study focused on how roleplaying impacts ones perception and treatment of others. Participants were divided into groups of prisoners and guards, those assigned the roles of guards quickly adjusted and became consumed by their position pif authority. Despite being average college students who volunteered to take part in a study, the "guards" soon took pleasure in the sadistic treatment of the fellow participants, thus causing the study to end early due to the shocking results. When faced with perceived with perceived authority, psychologically people gain characteristics that wouldn't otherwise be present. In the poorhouse, the people in charge perceived themselves as superior which lead to the abusive treatment of the poor. Jean Maillefer, a wealthy merchant, believes the poor live a carefree life because of his lack of personal experience an overall ignorance (Doc 11). As a wealthy merchant, Maillefer likely only dealt with other members of the bourgeois and failed to have any true interactions with the underprivileged. The town council saw the poor as inconveniences because as the working class the assistance for the