What did the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 do? 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
What did the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 do?
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 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. The National Assistance Act 1948 repealed all Poor Law legislation.
What is the meaning of poor laws?
: a law providing for or regulating the public relief or support of the poor.
When was a Poor Law passed?
1834
The history of the Poor Law in England and Wales is usually divided between two statutes: the Old Poor Law passed during the reign of Elizabeth I (1558–1603) and the New Poor Law, passed in 1834, which significantly modified the system of poor relief.
Why was the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 introduced?
The Act was intended to curb the cost of poor relief and address abuses of the old system, prevalent in southern agricultural counties, by enabling a new system to be brought in under which relief would only be given in workhouses, and conditions in workhouses would be such as to deter any but the truly destitute from …
Was the Poor Law Amendment Act a success?
It improved neither the material nor moral condition of the working class However, it was less inhumane than its opponents alleged. The 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act was ruthlessly and efficiently enforced in rural southern England as soon as it was passed, and was exceedingly unpopular.
What were the three categories of the poor?
The poor were classified in 3 brackets: a) The able poor who would work b) The able poor who would not work c) The poor who could not work, including children. The 1563 provisions meant that those who could (and would) work received some assistance in their own home: outdoor relief.
Who introduced the New 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.
Who opposed the poor law?
Often, the anti-Poor-Law movement was an extension of the Ten Hour movement and was orchestrated by the Short-Time committees and the Chartists. The movement brought together Tories who opposed centralisation and radicals who opposed the inhumanity of the ‘poor law Bastilles’.
Who introduced the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834?
Earl Grey
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 was the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 important?
Great Reform Act 1832 and the riots that preceeded. 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.
What was the cost of looking after the poor before 1834?
Before 1834, the cost of looking after the poor was growing more expensive every year. This cost was paid for by the middle and upper classes in each town through their local taxes. There was a real suspicion amongst the middle and upper classes that they were paying the poor to be lazy and avoid work.
What was the cost of Poor Law in the 1820s?
The end of the Napoleonic Wars and the poor harvests of the 1820s led to many country ratepayer landowners, who had to pay for a large percentage of the Poor Law benefits, complaining about the rising costs of such poor relief, which rose from £5.7m in 1823 to £7m in 1831 (see Murray, Poverty and Welfare 1830-1914, 1999).
Who was involved in the Poor Law Act 1832?
It resulted from the 1832 Royal Commission into the Operation of the Poor Laws, which included Edwin Chadwick, John Bird Sumner and Nassau William Senior. Chadwick was dissatisfied with the law that resulted from his report.