What is the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834?
The Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 (PLAA), known widely as the New Poor Law, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed by the Whig government of Earl Grey.
When was the first Poor Law Act passed in the UK?
United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1834 1834 in British law English Poor Laws 1834 in England Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning England and Wales Poor Law in Britain and Ireland
What is the status of the New Poor Law Act?
Status: Repealed. The Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 (PLAA), known widely as the New Poor Law, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed by the Whig government of Earl Grey.
What happened to the Poor Law in the 20th century?
The importance of the Poor Law declined with the rise of the welfare statein the 20th century. In 1948, the PLAA was repealed by the National Assistance Act 1948, which created the National Assistance Boardto act as a residual relief agency. [3] Contents 11832 Royal Commission's findings 2Doctrines 2.1Malthusianism 2.2Iron law of wages
What was the English Poor Law of 1834 based on?
The resulting increase in expenditures on public relief was so great that a new Poor Law was enacted in 1834, based on a harsher philosophy that regarded pauperism among able-bodied workers as a moral failing.
What was the purpose of the English Poor Laws?
The poor laws gave the local government the power to raise taxes as needed and use the funds to build and maintain almshouses; to provide indoor relief (i.e., cash or sustenance) for the aged, handicapped and other worthy poor; and the tools and materials required to put the unemployed to work.
What did the Poor Law of 1834 do to the poor?
The 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act The Bill established a Poor Law Commission to oversee the national operation of the system. This included the forming together of small parishes into Poor Law Unions and the building of workhouses in each union for the giving of poor relief.
What was the main reason the British Poor Law did not work?
The Poor Law system fell into decline at the beginning of the 20th century owing to factors such as the introduction of the Liberal welfare reforms and the availability of other sources of assistance from friendly societies and trade unions, as well as piecemeal reforms which bypassed the Poor Law system.
Who created the Poor Law of 1834?
Earl GreyThe Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 (PLAA) known widely as the New Poor Law, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed by the Whig government of Earl Grey.
Why was the poor law abolished?
The demise of the Poor Law system can largely be attributed to the availability of alternative sources of assistance, including membership of friendly societies and trade unions.
What was the purpose of the Poor Law 1834?
The new Poor Law ensured that the poor were housed in workhouses, clothed and fed. Children who entered the workhouse would receive some schooling. In return for this care, all workhouse paupers would have to work for several hours each day.
Was the new Poor Law a success?
The new Poor Law was seen as the final solution to the problem of pauperism, which would work wonders for the moral character of the working man, but it did not provide any such solution. It improved neither the material nor moral condition of the working class However, it was less inhumane than its opponents alleged.
What is the definition of Poor Law?
Definition of poor law : a law providing for or regulating the public relief or support of the poor.
What were the three poor laws?
National level – 1601 Poor Law everyone had to contribute and those who refused would go to jail. begging was banned and anyone caught was whipped and sent back to their place of birth. almshouses were established to look after the impotent poor.
How long did the poor law last?
350 yearsThis is a mainly chronological outline of developments in British social policy up to 1948. The Poor Law lasted, in one form or another, for 350 years, and accounts of British social policy tend in consequence to be dominated by the role of government.
What was the poor law before 1834?
This Act provided for the employment of salaried overseers, better-kept accounts and either the building or enlargement of workhouses. Also, under this legislation, two JPs were needed to agree to force the Vestry to give poor relief, rather than only one JP as before.
What was the purpose of the Poor Law 1834?
The new Poor Law ensured that the poor were housed in workhouses, clothed and fed. Children who entered the workhouse would receive some schooling. In return for this care, all workhouse paupers would have to work for several hours each day.
Why was the Poor Law 1601 introduced?
Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries removed the main source of charity for those who could not support themselves. In 1601, Elizabeth I's Government tried to fill the gap with the Poor Relief Act, which obliged each parish to collect taxes to support people who could not work.
What were the poor laws quizlet?
- The poor were restricted from freely seeking employment beyond their parish. - Were not permitted to settle in a new community unless they could prove that they can support themselves without assistance from public funds.
What were the poor laws in 1815?
In 1815 the Tory government of Lord Liverpool passed the Corn Laws which artificially raised the price of bread by prohibiting the import of foreign grain until the domestic price reached 80 shillings a quarter.
What was the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834?
The Poor Law Amendment Act 1834(PLAA) known widely as the New Poor Law, was an Actof the Parliament of the United Kingdompassed by the Whiggovernment of Earl Grey. It completely replaced earlier legislation based on the Poor Law of 1601and attempted to fundamentally change the poverty relief systemin England and Wales (similar changes were made to the poor lawfor Scotland in 1845). It resulted from the 1832 Royal Commission into the Operation of the Poor Laws, which included Edwin Chadwick, John Bird Sumnerand Nassau William Senior. Chadwick was dissatisfied with the law that resulted from his report. The Act was passed two years after the 1832 Reform Actextended the franchiseto middle class men. Some historians have argued that this was a major factor in the PLAA being passed.
What is the poor law?
The Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 ( PLAA) known widely as the New Poor Law, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed by the Whig government of Earl Grey.
Why did the poor oppose the New Poor Law Act?
The poor working-class including the agricultural laborers and factory workers also opposed the New Poor Law Act because the diet in workhouses was inadequate to sustain workers' health and nutrition. The Times even named this act as "the starvation act.".
Why did poor law unions need union workhouses?
In practice, most existing workhouses were ill-suited to the new system (characterised by opponents as locking up the poor in "Poor Law bastilles"), and many poor law unions soon found that they needed a new purpose-built union workhouse. Their purpose being to securely confine large numbers of the lower classes at low cost, they not unnaturally looked much like prisons.
When did people come to workhouses for food?
Out-door relief: Poor people coming to a workhouse for food, c. 1840
When was the Poor Law repealed?
The importance of the Poor Law declined with the rise of the welfare state in the 20th century. In 1948, the PLAA was repealed by the National Assistance Act 1948, which created the National Assistance Board to act as a residual relief agency.
Which clause gives the Commission sweeping powers?
Clause 15 of the Act gave the Commission sweeping powers:
New Poor Law
The Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions’ effects, together with the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars, had unleashed huge pressure on the existing Poor Laws.
National Health Service
One of the first priorities of the Labour Government elected after the Second World War was the establishment of an egalitarian health care system. The National Assistance Act closed the remaining workhouses, moving the few aged and infirm occupants to other facilities, and set up the National Health System which survives with modifications today.
What was the English Poor Law Act of 1834?
The new Poor Law ensured that the poor were housed in workhouses, clothed and fed. Children who entered the workhouse would receive some schooling. In return for this care, all workhouse paupers would have to work for several hours each day.
What did the poor law state?
The Elizabethan Poor Laws, as codified in 1597–98, were administered through parish overseers, who provided relief for the aged, sick, and infant poor, as well as work for the able-bodied in workhouses.
What was the Vagabonds and Beggars Act?
Vagabonds and Beggars Act 1494. Poor Law Amendment Act 1834. The Poor law Amendment Act 1834 , amending what was known as the ‘ Old Poor Law ‘and reflecting concerns about the burden of a growing population and a spiraling cost of poor relief under the Old Poor Law. It was arguably one of the most important and draconian pieces of legislation, ...
What was the purpose of the amendment act?
The amendment act adopted an approach that was to make poverty less attractive, difficult to believe now in hindsight could be seen as attractive! Conversely those in power would, as can be seen today, have seen it as an important incentive not to be in poverty at all but to be gainfully employed.
Was relief restricted to administration?
Relief was restricted largely to administration via entry into the Workhouses, what had been known as ‘Outdoor Relief was now severely restricted. Even entry into the Workhouse was subject to a form of means testing that only allowed the severest of cases to be admitted. Parishes were organised into Poor Law Unions.
Time Period
The New Poor Law and its records began in 1834 and continued until 1948 when it was replaced by the National Health Care system.
Population coverage
Poor law records covered many, many people, both the poor and those who paid the tax to support them. This tax, called a rate, was collected from all the householders in the parish who were not paupers themselves.
Research goals satisfied by the information in the material
A researcher can find names of individuals and entire families listed in poor law records. Poor or pauper families often have all their names listed in the admission register along with the dates of admission, occupation, age, religion, parish, and the cause of need for relief. Frequently a mother and her children are recorded together.
Survival of original material
Most records survive from the dates of the various Poor Law Unions organization and the establishment of their workhouse. The various records that survive can be extensive and guides to each Poor Law Union and workhouse should be searched if any are available.
Historical background
Prior to 1834, each parish took care of its own poor, including collecting a rate to cover costs and administering relief.
Significant Acts
Responsibility for highways passed to the new civil, local authorities, and the post of Surveyor of Highways abolished.
Types of records generated by the poor law
There are many, many, types of records. Below are just a few of the more useful for genealogical research. For a comprehensive listing of records, see Jeremy Gibson, Colin Rogers, and Cliff Webb, Poor Law Union Records, 2nd Edition (Birmingham, England : Federation of Family History Societies, 1997.
When was the Poor Law enacted?
The Poor Law was first enacted in 1536 and was the Tudor version of a contemporary social security system. Life was very tough then, with many working class people living on a thin line between poverty and pauperism. It was the first time the government had recognised any kind of social responsibility, opinions as to the role of the government in welfare were changing, expectations to provide for the deserving were arising. Reasons why the government at the time introduced support for the poor are disputed.
What are the characteristics of the Old Poor Law?
The Old Poor Law, or the 43rd of Elizabeth, is characterised by three main features. That of classification, localisation and of settlement. There were three types of pauper; the able bodied or the unemployed, the impotent poor or those unable to work due to old age, sickness or disability, and finally the persistent idler, who was seen to be merely unwilling to work . The old poor relief was localised, the parishes were responsible for both collecting their poor rates and distributing them accordingly.
Why did the number of paupers rise in the sixteenth century?
The numbers of paupers had risen noticeably during the sixteenth century because of two factors; firstly the dissolution of the monasteries which up to then had been the main source of welfare for most, and secondly the process of enclosure.
What was the Act of Settlement in 1662?
The Act of Settlement in 1662 required people to claim relief solely in the parish of their birth or marriage making it very difficult for people to seek work outside of their parish. Relief was mainly given in the form of 'outdoor relief', but varied from parish to parish. Some choosing to give alms to those in need, others putting the unemployed to work, either in the parish or in the case of larger towns and cities, in the workhouse, termed 'indoor relief'.
Who was Thomas Malthus?
Thomas Malthus was a political economist troubled by the conditions of poverty in the nineteenth century. He saw the rising level of population exacerbating the already strained Poor Law rates, and felt that it gave no incentive to the poor to limit the size of their families as the parish would provide for children they were unable to support. In chapter 5 of his 'Essay on the Principle of Population' he states that 'The poor-laws of England tend to depress the general condition of the poor…
When was the Poor Law system abolished?
The following article presents a Timeline of the Poor Law system from its origins in the Tudor and Elizabethan era to its abolition in 1948.
What was the Royal Commission on the Poor Laws and Relief of Distress?
1900s. 1905 - Royal Commission on the Poor Laws and Relief of Distress 1905-09 set up by the outgoing Conservative government. 1906 - The Liberal Government is elected and begins an ambitious programme of welfare reforms. 1909 - The Minority report.
What was the first complete code of poor relief?
1597 - The Act for the Relief of the Poor 1597 provides the first complete code of Poor Relief
What happened in 1815?
1815 - The French Wars come to an end. 1830 - The Swing Riots highlight the possibility of agricultural unrest. 1832 - The Royal Commission into the Operation of the Poor Laws begins its investigation into the Poor Law system. 1834 - Poor Law Amendment Act passed.
Overview
Further reading
• Blaug, Mark. "The Myth of the Old Poor Law and the Making of the New". Journal of Economic History 23 (1963): 151–84. online
• Boyer, James, et al. "English Poor Laws." EHnet; summary and historiography
• Brundage, Anthony. The making of the new Poor law: the politics of inquiry, enactment, and implementation, 1832–1839 (1978).
1832 Royal Commission's findings
Alarmed at the cost of poor relief in the southern agricultural districts of England (where, in many areas, it had become a semi-permanent top-up of labourers' wages – the Allowance System, Roundsman System, or Speenhamland System), Parliament had set up a Royal Commission into the operation of the Poor Laws. The Commission's findings, which had probably been predetermin…
Doctrines
Malthus' An Essay on the Principle of Population set out the influential doctrine that population growth was geometric, and that, unless checked, population increased faster than the ability of a country to feed it. This pressure explained the existence of poverty, which he justified theologically as a force for self-improvement and abstention. He saw any assistance to the poor—such as given by the old poor laws—as self-defeating, temporarily removing the pressure …
Terms of the Poor Law Amendment Act
When the Act was introduced, it did not legislate for a detailed Poor Law regime. Instead, it set up a three-man Poor Law Commission, an "at arms' length" quango to which Parliament delegated the power to make appropriate regulations, without making any provision for effective oversight of the Commission's doings. Local poor-rates payers still elected their local Board of Poor Law Guar…
Implementation
The central body set up to administer the new system was the Poor Law Commission. The Commission worked in Somerset House (hence epithets such as The Bashaws of Somerset House ) and was initially made up of:
• Thomas Frankland Lewis – former Tory MP
• George Nicholls – Overseer of the old system
Problems with the Poor Law Amendment Act
After 1834, Poor Law policy aimed to transfer unemployed rural workers to urban areas where there was work, and protect urban ratepayers from paying too much.
It was impossible to achieve both these aims, as the principle of less eligibility made people search for work in towns and cities. Workhouses were built and paupers transferred to these urban areas. However, the Settlement Laws were used to protect ratepayers from paying too mu…
Opposition to the Poor Law
Fierce hostility and organised opposition from workers, politicians and religious leaders eventually led to the Amendment Act being amended, removing the very harsh measures of the workhouses to a certain degree. The Andover workhouse scandal, in which conditions in the Andover Union Workhouse were found to be inhumane and dangerous, prompted investigation by a Commons select committee, whose report commented scathingly on the dysfunctionality of the Poor Law …