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9 Cards in this Set
- Front
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What forms of help were available to the poor before welfare was enforced? |
-The YMCA -The Salvation Army -The poor house/work house (these were often the very last resort for a poor family)
-The Post Office opened savings accounts from the 1860's, then the... -Salvation Army: 1865 -Dr.Barnardo's House: 1869 -The RSPCC: 1884 -There were even penny banks for the extremely poor |
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What was the old Liberal governments approach to poverty? |
-Laissez Faire: Individuals were solely responsible for their own lives and welfare. The government did not accept responsibility for the poverty and hardship that existed among its citizens. A popular point of view at the time was that poverty was caused by idleness, drunkenness and other such moral weaknesses on the part of the working classes. The poor were seen by the wealthy as an unfortunate but inevitable part of society. |
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What was Samuel Smiles opinion on the position of the poor in Britain? |
-Wrote the book "self-help" in 1859 -He thought that poverty could be avoided by hard work and forward planning -He thoroughly implemented Laissez Faire -He felt that it was bad to help the poor as they would be incapable of looking after themselves -Famously quoted "heaven helps those who help themselves"- which was, of course, the most popular opinion of the time |
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What was the Andover scandal of 1845? |
-Arose when the inhumane conditions at the workhouse in Andover,Hampshire, England were exposed by journalists and politicians in 1845. -The inmates were kept starving by the workhouse master who stole from the food supplies provided, which were already smaller in quantity than thesubsistence diet decreed by the Poor Law Commission. -Hunger drove the inmates to eat the bones which they were supposed to crush to make fertilizer, |
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What was the 1834 Poor Law Amendment? |
-In 1834 the Poor Law Amendment Act was passed by Parliament. This was designed to reduce the cost of looking after the poor as it stopped money going to poor people except in exceptional circumstances. -Now if people wanted help they had to go into a workhouse to get it. -The poor were given clothes and food in the workhouse in exchange for several hours of manual labour each day. -Families were split up inside the workhouse. People had to wear a type of uniform, follow strict rules and were on a bad diet of bread and watery soup. -Conditions were made so terrible that only those people who desperately needed help would go there. |
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What did Charles Booth uncover about the poverty in London? |
-In 1885 Charles Booth became angry about the claim made by H. H. Hyndman, the leader of the Social Democratic Federation, that 25% of the population of London lived in abject poverty -Whilst running his own report, Booth uncovered that, in fact, around about 30% of Londoners were in abject poverty -One of the proposals, after his discoveries, he made was for the introduction of Old Age Pensions. A measure that he described as "limited socialism" -Booth believed that if the government failed to take action, Britain was in danger of experiencing a socialist revolution |
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What did Seebohm Rowantree uncover about poverty in York? |
-Showed poverty was widespread; one third of the population living in towns lived in poverty -Primary poverty was used to describe those whose earnings were low but could survive on this (15%). Secondary poverty was used to describe those whose earnings were enough but who spent their money in a wasteful way (18%) -Again it found poverty was not the person's fault -Many of the elderly, ill and unemployed lived in such poverty. Even those who did work had wages that were so low they could not afford the basics |
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What were Friendly Societies? |
-Clubs formed by people from one area or by workers in a particular job -They operated like insurance companies, as most insurance companies would not deal with poorly paid workers
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What was the state of poverty by 1900? |
Some Success... -Industrial Revolution: provided many jobs -Friendly Societies: provided an alternative back up for the poor (rather than the work house) -10% of the impoverished were being helped
But it didn't go far enough as... -The workhouses remained strong (The Andover Scandal was horrendous) -30% of the population were living in poverty -Not everyone was offered help from charities |
