Poor Law Essays

  • The Poor Law

    1144 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Poor Law The Poor Law was a system established since the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, about two hundred years before the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834. In this system the able-bodied poor should be set to work, whilst the others had to be provided for by their parish of birth. By 1795 when the whole system was under strain, an attempted solution was the Speenhamland system also know as the allowance system that was devised in 1795. This was devised to relieve the acute distress of the

  • Elizabethan Poor Law

    728 Words  | 2 Pages

    people under the queen are struggling to live; people like the poor or the paupers in the 17th century. Queen Elizabeth attained recognition as an absolute monarch and a responsible Tudor queen at that time. She achieved numerous goals that helped herself and her people prosper. There was one achievement that affected many people, especially the poor, which was the Elizabethan Poor Law. It organized the poor and affected future poor laws after that. Queen Elizabeth I notices the growing number of paupers

  • The Elizabeth Poor Law

    833 Words  | 2 Pages

    Elizabeth Poor Laws: Why were they so important in the development of social welfare in North America?: The Elizabeth Poor Law advocated and placed responsibility of the poor to the churches and government. If parishes could not meet the responsibilities, counties were required to assume relief-giving functions. The government became the chief enforcer of poor relief. However, the local parishes fulfilled their welfare responsibilities in several ways. They provided outdoor relief to persons

  • Elizabethan Poor Law Research Paper

    1281 Words  | 3 Pages

    assistance emerged. In the history of social policy development, both poor relief and traditional charity relations had significant functions in preindustrial Europe. Marco H. D. van Leeuwen (1994) states that the wealthy had the obligation to assist the poor, and the poor had to accept the legitimacy of the social order (p.593). Through giving alms, the rich had the chance to buy “salvation,” and through accepting alms, the poor secured their subsistence. It was also a way of controlling the destitute

  • The Aims and Principles of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act

    673 Words  | 2 Pages

    Aims and Principles of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act In the decades prior to the national reform of the Poor Law in 1834, the characterisations of the administration were of variety rather than uniformity. The social and economic changes at this time produced many problems for those that were responsible for the social welfare. Many areas throughout the country though found solutions to this problem within the legal frame-work of the Elizabethan Poor Law of 1597-1601. In the initial

  • Source Related Study on Poor Law

    768 Words  | 2 Pages

    Source Related Study on Poor Law 1. We can learn from source A, which was written in December 1835, that the cost was effected by the new poor law in Uckfield. This source was written in the same year that the New Poor Law was applied to Uckfield. In the years 1831, 1832 and 1833, £1386 was being spent on the workhouse but £836 less was being spent when the new poor law was introduced. Also, because the conditions were made worse, more people wanted to get out of the workhouse and get employed

  • The Poor Law Amendment Act and Tackling Poverty

    2921 Words  | 6 Pages

    The Poor Law Amendment Act and Tackling Poverty The Poor Law of 1601 was the first to codify the idea of the state to provide for the welfare of its citizens. It distinguished between the 'deserving' and the 'undeserving' poor; relief was local and community controlled.1 The 1834 Poor Law Act Amendment Act was an amendment to the Act for the relief of The English Poor Law of 1601. The Speenhamland System The Speenhamland System first saw light of day in 1795. It was introduced by the

  • The Significance Of Dickens Criticism Of The 1834 Poor Law In Oliver Twist

    537 Words  | 2 Pages

    Dickens' Criticism of the 1834 Poor Law in Oliver Twist Dickens criticised the 1834 poor law in many different ways within the first five chapters. He does this firstly by cleverly portraying the Victorians attitudes towards the poor. He does this in chapter 1 by referring to Oliver as 'the item of mortality' suggesting how lowly his position in society is. Also the difficulty of Oliver's birth and the fact his mother dies, gives us some idea of the dangers of child birth in Victorian society

  • An Objectivists View on a Charles Dickens´Christmas Carol

    1390 Words  | 3 Pages

    view is used to analyse the social and political undertones of the story they will agree with most of it, if not all of it. One of the major parts that an objectivist would agree with in A Christmas Carol is how scrooge thinks of and how he treats the poor and infirm. Scrooge further develops his objectivist ideology by being completely self-interested in both his personal and professional life. After Scrooge is visited by the three apparitions he is radically changed from a self-interested, objectivist

  • Social Welfare

    1305 Words  | 3 Pages

    Elizabethan Poor Law that aimed to assist migrants in their struggle to fulfill the expectations of the early stages of industrialization. Its principles were designed to accommodate the necessities of transforming the economy and to negotiate between industrial interests and the landed gentry. They also intended to differentiate between social insurance and social benefits – the deserving and undeserving poor. The means of relief were different for the deserving and undeserving poor. The deserving

  • Development of the Welfare State in Britain 1900-1948

    1508 Words  | 4 Pages

    In England poor laws were first passed in 1598 and continued in amended forms until the National Health Service (NHS) came into formal existence on the ‘Appointed day’ which was fifth of July 1948. The poor laws were introduced to deal with poverty at a local level. At this time the disadvantaged, sick and elderly were assisted by the church, charities, philanthropists and work houses. During the industrialisation revolution Britain saw immense technological advancements in manufacturing and machinery

  • Sculcoates Workhouse

    1697 Words  | 4 Pages

    an unwanted orphan, or an impoverished widow, if you were too old to work, or you were sick or deranged, you could end up in the dreaded union workhouse. The Poor Law of 1601 made the welfare of the poor the responsibility of parish councils. The council would house the poor in either a cottage, or in a house built for the purpose. Some poor people were provided with money food and clothing whilst continuing to live in their own homes. Following the civil wars in the middle of the 17th Century,

  • Poverty and its Relief in Medieval England

    612 Words  | 2 Pages

    paved the way for the policies which majorly concentrated on the upliftment of poor. This resulted in the poor relief act for the betterment of the underprivileged people of the society. During 1547 beggars were grouped as ‘V’ and were forced to slavery for two years. The law of 1572 continued this approach stating that beggars should be punished and for a third offence should be given death penalty. The only help for poor people was through private charity. Growing numbers of beggars and vagrants were

  • The Emergence of the Chartist Movement

    752 Words  | 2 Pages

    The "People's Charter," drafted in 1838 by William Lovett and Francis Place was at the heart of a radical campaign for parliamentary reform of the inequity remaining after the Reform Act of 1832. The charter contained six points that were to be presented to parliament, these where: Universal Suffrage No Property qualifications Annual Parliaments Equal representation (constituencies of equal size) Payment of members Vote by ballot Two national petitions incorporating the six points

  • Life for the Poor in Elizabethan England

    847 Words  | 2 Pages

    Life for the poor in Elizabethan England was very harsh. The poor did not share the same luxuries and items as the wealthier families. There was no way for the poor to get help that they needed. Unlike today, welfare was not available to give help and support. The government in Tudor England became concerned about the poor that lived in their community. They soon noticed the changes in agriculture during this time period. Do to this people were led away from the country and village life to find employment

  • The Fenian Movement

    1734 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Fenian Movement Fenian Movement, which was organized 1858, started as a secret revolutionary society in Ireland and the United States. This movement was created in the honor of the Fianna, known as the ancient Irish warriors. Fenians wanted to achieve Irish Independence from England by force. This movement was also known as the Fenian Brotherhood, Fenian Society, Irish Republican Brotherhood, and Irish American Brotherhood. The Fenians also had a very strong military force located in Ireland

  • Poverty and Charity in Jane Eyre

    1140 Words  | 3 Pages

    Whitcross, Jane Eyre becomes the recipient of the positive and negative aspects of the New Poor Law depicted by Charlotte Bronte in nineteenth-century England. Under the care of Mrs. Reed, Jane's aunt, Jane is treated as though she is a "wicked and abandoned child" (60; ch. 4). Her "father had been a poor clergyman" (58; ch. 3) and both her parents died from typhus fever. She was given to her motherí's sister-in-law in "promise of Mrs. Reed that she would rear and maintain her as one of her own children"

  • Social Work Case Study

    1597 Words  | 4 Pages

    need of financial assistance to provide for her family. In this paper, I will address how the following concepts would handle the need of Ms. Apple, according to the Elizabethan poor laws of 1601, the Charity Organization,, societies, and the position of an Institutional and Residual Worker. During the Elizabethan poor law of 1601, a widow seeking assistance was not easily accommodated. In the event, a widow was able bodied she would be placed in a workhouse to provide for herself and risk possibly

  • Changing Attitudes Toward the Poor in Britain

    1008 Words  | 3 Pages

    Attitudes Toward the Poor in Britain Paternalism underpinned the Old Poor Law, the perception that those in power should take responsibility for their workers. The Old Poor Law provided 'out-relief' for those in poverty as an addition to their weekly wage. By 1832, however, the industrial revolution had begun and capitalism was the leading system. A new approach of 'self-help' marked the demise of paternalism. This new attitude was the belief that poverty was the fault of the poor. The government's

  • Abortion in context: What was the fate of an unwanted or orphaned child in the nineteenth century?

    2661 Words  | 6 Pages

    apprenticed by the time they were seven or eight years old (Simpson 136). Care of the orphans (and also the sick, the poor, the elderly, and the mentally ill) was first the responsibility of the church, but with increased legislation, the responsibility gradually fell under the state (Simpson 137). Pennsylvania passed such a “poor law” in 1705, establishing an “Overseer of the Poor” for each township. Each overseer was responsible for finding funds for children and more commonly, for finding positions