Attitudes Towards Poverty: 1850-1950 Essay Sample
This research paper will analyze how English constructs of poorness changed through the clip frame 1850-1950. why it changed and some of the writers who contributed to this alteration. To explicate more clearly the thoughts. events occurred during those times will be used to back up the statements. We will continue in a chronological manner. Victorian Era ( 1850-1900 )
1850: Victorian Era. By 1851. the industrial development shifted big mass of people from rural countries to urban countries where assorted occupations were available. nevertheless inexperient and unqualified workers received low and irregular rewards. The abrogation of the Corn Law and the enclosure motions discouraged people from puting in agribusiness in rural countries. so they moved to towns to work in mills. Many Victorians struggled to understand and explicate poorness. They did non cognize whom to keep responsible for poorness: was it the hapless themselves because of their indolence and irresponsibleness or was it all due to fortunes? However they were legion in following the “self-help” attitude. They believed that everyone should fend for themselves and should be responsible for their ain endurance and that they should non seek the aid of others. Harmonizing to them. poorness could be overcome by difficult work and anyone could be successful. “Many Victorians ( non all ) felt that the hapless were to fault for their poverty” .
Historians had assorted sentiments about the impact of industrialization on poorness: on one manus. some believed that industrialization brought upon better living conditions and higher rewards. on the other manus some argued that industrialization degraded the life quality of workers ( insanitary and overcrowded lodging. low rewards. hapless diet. insecure employment and the awful effects of illness and old age ) unless they were skilled workers. Little betterments had been brought about merely around 1870s. Furthermore. the hapless alleviation system ( the Poor Law ) had been changed during the Victorian age. “Paupers” were no longer allowed to seek safety in their parish. In order to have aid. the hapless so had to travel to workhouses. These were set in topographic point with harsher conditions ( unpleasant work. rigorous regulations. disintegrated households ) in order to deter the hapless from seeking aid.
This step seemed to work since workhouses were feared by the hapless: merely orphans. abandoned married womans. widows. lone seniors continued to remain at workhouses despite the terrible life conditions because they had no other options. Therefore amendments to the Poor Law forced hapless people to trust upon themselves for their basic demands every bit far as possible. They preferred to fend for themselves alternatively to working and populating in workhouses. The hapless helped each other: friends and household cooperated ; the slow outgrowth of trade brotherhoods besides provided alleviation to the working category. Nonetheless. workhouse populating conditions bit by bit improved in the late nineteenth century. Victorians became more tolerant and compassionate towards the hapless. As explained above. many independent associations helped the hapless. For illustration. hapless kids were provided with free breakfast in the 1890s every bit good as free boots or places in the 1890s. Many people were really hapless in Victorian Britain and people accepted poorness as a portion of life. This was discovered by Charles Booth. a British concern and societal statistician. Influential writers
Charles Booth
Charles Booth ( 1840-1916 ) was one among the number ones to analyze poorness. To his arrant surprise. industrialization had brought approximately poorness in major metropoliss to a big extent. Between 1889 and 1891 he published 17 volumes called Life and Labour of the People in London. trusting on his door to door studies he had carried out. His poorness maps demoing the geographical distribution of different societal categories in London are still used today as a mention for societal surveies in UK. In fact. he publically criticized about the 35 % of people populating in low poorness. compared to the deceptive per centum of merely 25 % given at that clip by the Social Democratic Federation leader Hyndman. Booth was able to specify a “poverty line” at 10 to 20 shillings as the minimal sum to feed a household of 4-5 members. He introduced the construct of Old Age Pensions by back uping his statements based on his plant. He believed in a healthy work force for better productiveness and fought for the rights of the on the job category. Another writer who was influenced by Charles Booth’s work to further analyze the issue of poorness in Britain was Seebohm Rowntree. Seebohm Rowntree
Seebohm Rowntree ( 1871–1954 ) was a British sociological research worker. societal reformist and industrialist. For his First York Study ( 1899 ) . like Booth. he used the construct of poorness line ( the lower limit amount required for the basic demands of a household ) and besides deduced similar consequences: 27. 4 % of people were populating in low poorness. He besides found out that the ground the hapless were hapless was because they received low rewards and non because they brought it upon themselves and that poorness was non a ‘social evil’ but a ‘social problem’ which could be cured. For his Second York Study ( 1936 ) . he found that fewer people were populating in low poorness among the working category ( 50 % lessening ) . The causes of poorness besides changed: it was no longer due to low rewards but besides due to unemployment in the 1930s. Therefore Rowntree’s Hagiographas allowed the working category to gain a better pay in order to relieve poorness. Henry Mayhew
Mayhew belonged to the Victorian epoch. His books London Labour and the London Poor ( 1851 ) were really influential. He did a study on the hapless to act upon the authorities to take actions. He interviewed many hapless people to exemplify their day-to-day lives. This allowed the upper societal categories to hold an penetration on the lives of the hapless. He classified the hapless “under three separate stages. harmonizing as they will work. they can’t work. and they won’t work” . Christian Socialists were influenced by his work which permitted them to go cognizant of the life conditions of the hapless.
1900-1950
The start of the century was specially marked by a “prolonged financial fiscal crisis” following the expensive and unpopular Boer War ( 1899–1902 ) and the international economic recession ensuing in monolithic unemployment and lessening in incomes across Britain for more than half a century. With the aid of Booth’s and Rowntree’s surveies. Britain became cognizant of the badness of the poorness issue. In 1906. some reforms were made by a Broad authorities every bit shortly as it was elected. They allowed free school repasts to hapless kids at school. In January 1909. old age pensions were paid for the first clip in British history through the 1908 Old Age Pensions Act. The authorities set up pay councils ; they fought for the improvement of workers ( e. g. puting up of a minimum pay for certain mills ) . During 1914-1930. the First World War resulted in mass unemployment and poorness. Britain no longer had its international fiscal power. Other states were quickly developing financially. In 1920s and 1930s. while some countries flourished with wealth and prosperity. some countries were still overwhelmed with unemployment. poorness and illness. Poverty was particularly higher among solitary older households and households with immature kids. However the rate of poorness was lower than earlier.
During the interwars of the Second World War. particularly after 1940. the authorities was greatly influenced by the surveies of societal scientists. However. some historiographers besides say that the authorities had no pick but to happen a redress desperately to the worsening job of poorness. For illustration. Rowntree’s proposed solutions to child poorness. based on his 1936 study. were adopted by authorities to supply for wartime household allowances ( 1936 ) . The undermentioned old ages. more societal studies were carried out to work out wartime jobs and for the station war Reconstruction.
The most celebrated one of these is the Beverigde Report of 1942 which recommended the entire abolishment of the Poor Law and for it to be substituted by national insurances. household allowances. unemployment allowances. and the constitution of a national wellness system. Beverigde Plan was regarded as the foundation of the now British Welfare State. Poverty was no longer an issue for the hapless merely but was a concerning affair to the whole state. Consecutive societal surveies showed regressing per centum
of poorness although it was non wholly eradicated. During those times. it is said that person populating off on pension was populating every bit comfortably as a skilled worker. By 1950. it is said that absolute poorness was about eradicated from Britain. Reasons for the alteration in attitude
Indeed. the attitude towards poorness has changed during the period 1850-1950. There is more than one factor accountable for it. * Hagiographas on poorness
Many writers produced plants on poorness: societal scientists. artistic authors like Dickens. These plants influenced Britain to look into poorness more earnestly. * Britain’s realization During wartime ( Boer war ) . Britain realized that it was the nation’s duty to look after the hapless and ill if it were to win wars. It couldn’t perchance win with a ill ground forces. Most of the work forces ( about 60 % ) were excessively ill in order to be recruited in the ground forces to contend for wars. * Extension of the right to vote
The Great Reform Act of 1832 allowed in-between categories to vote. Thus. the parliamentary Liberal and Conservative Parties emerged to stand for them. In 1867 the Second Reform Act was passed by Disraeli’s Conservative authorities. which allowed the richer. urban working category to vote. A 3rd reform act in 1884 increased the entire electors to about six out of 10 work forces. Hence. by 1890 most of the electors were working category and they could now vote for people and parties who would contend for their rights. The Conservative or Liberal Party had to support the on the job category. if non they would lose their support. * Spread of socialism
Socialists no longer wanted the laissez faire attitude of authorities towards the defects of the society. They wanted the authorities to take action. * Trade unionism
The workers had trade brotherhoods to assist to better their conditions. They were able to do themselves heard to the authorities through the trade brotherhoods. * Emergence of the Labour Party
When foremost created. Labour party was non so celebrated among the working category who voted for the traditional Liberal party. But with clip. Labour party managed to derive in popularity and proved to be an equal challenger to Liberal
party. Labour party fought entirely for the on the job category. unlike the Liberals who at foremost believed in the self-help and the non-meddling of authorities in the society. Decision
In the late mid nineteenth century. about 30 % of people were populating in low poorness. This forced the authorities to take an active manus in undertaking the issue. They discarded the ego aid theory and provided several steps to relieve poorness. They were greatly helped by surveies of several writers viz. Mayhew. Booth and Rowntree. By the terminal of 1950. utmost poorness about disappeared from Britain.
Bibliography
* Alexandra Fry. “The Effects of Child Poverty” . UG Journal. 2010. p. 4 hypertext transfer protocol: //www. Essex. Ac. uk/sociology/student_journals/UG_Journal/UGJournal_Vol4/2010Journal_AlexandraFry. pdf [ accessed 27 April 2012 ] * BBC History. “Beneath the surface: A State of Two Nations” hypertext transfer protocol: //www. bbc. co. uk/history/british/victorians/bsurface_01. shtml ( Last Consulted April 30. 2012 ) * BBC History. “Queen Victoria and her Prime Ministers” hypertext transfer protocol: //www. bbc. co. uk/history/british/victorians/victoria_ministers_01. shtml ( Last Consulted 30 April 2012 ) * EH. cyberspace. “Poverty in Britain. 1900-1965” hypertext transfer protocol: //eh. net/book_reviews/poverty-britain-1900-1965 ( Last Consulted April 30. 2012 ) * History aid. “Attitudes to poverty” hypertext transfer protocol: //www. schoolhistory. co. uk/studentforum/index. php? showtopic=2881 ( Last Consulted April 30. 2012 ) * Joseph Rowntree Foundation. “‘Social immoralities and ‘social problems’ in Britain. 1904-2008” hypertext transfer protocol: //www. jrf. org. uk/sites/files/jrf/evils-social-problems. pdf ( Last Consulted 30 April 2012 ) * Kenneth O. Morgan. The Oxford History of Britain. Oxford. Oxford University Press. 2001 * Political developments circa 1900 hypertext transfer protocol: //www. atschool. eduweb. co. uk/…/Poverty % 201830… * Spicker Paul. “Poverty and the public assistance state” hypertext transfer protocol: //www. rightsnet. org. uk/pdfs/catalystaugust2002. pdf ( Last Consulted April 30. 2012 ) * Wikipedia. “Charles Booth ( philantropist ) ” hypertext transfer protocol: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Charles_Booth_ ( altruist ) ( Last Consulted 30 April 2012 ) * Wikipedia. “Henry Mayhew”
hypertext transfer protocol: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Henry_Mayhew ( Last Consulted 30 April 2012 ) * Wikipedia. “Poverty in the United Kingdom” hypertext transfer protocol: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Poverty_in_the_United_Kingdom Last Consulted April 30. 2012 ) * Wikipedia. “Seebohm Rowntree” hypertext transfer protocol: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Benjamin_Seebohm_Rowntree ( Last Consulted 30 April 2012 )
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[ 1 ] . BBC History. “Beneath the surface: A State of Two Nations” hypertext transfer protocol: //www. bbc. co. uk/history/british/victorians/bsurface_01. shtml ( Last Consulted April 30. 2012 ) [ 2 ] . Idem
[ 3 ] . Local Histories. “A Brief History of Poverty” hypertext transfer protocol: //www. localhistories. org/povhist. hypertext markup language ( Last Consulted April 30. 2012 )
[ 4 ] . BBC History. “Beneath the surface: A State of Two Nations” [ 5 ] . Local Histories. “A Brief History of Poverty” hypertext transfer protocol: //www. localhistories. org/povhist. hypertext markup language ( Last Consulted April 30. 2012 )
[ 6 ] . Alexandra Fry. “The Effects of Child Poverty” . UG Journal. 2010. p. 4 [ accessed 27 April 2012 ]
[ 7 ] . Wikipedia. “Charles Booth ( philantropist ) ” hypertext transfer protocol: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Charles_Booth_ ( altruist ) ( Last Consulted 30 April 2012 ) [ 8 ] . Alexandra Fry. op. cit. . p. 5
[ 9 ] . Wikipedia. op. cit.
[ 10 ] . Wikipedia. “Seebohm Rowntree” hypertext transfer protocol: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Benjamin_Seebohm_Rowntree ( Last Consulted 30 April 2012 ) [ 11 ] . Joseph Rowntree Foundation. “‘Social immoralities and ‘social problems’ in Britain. 1904-2008” hypertext transfer protocol: //www. jrf. org. uk/sites/files/jrf/evils-social-problems. pdf ( Last Consulted 30 April 2012 ) [ 12 ] . Wikipedia. “Seebohm Rowntree” . opcit.
[ 13 ] . Wikipedia. “Henry Mayhew” hypertext transfer protocol: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Henry_Mayhew ( Last Consulted 30 April 2012 ) [ 14 ] . Joseph Rowntree Foundation. “‘Social immoralities and ‘social problems’ in Britain. 1904-2008” hypertext transfer protocol: //www. jrf. org. uk/sites/files/jrf/evils-social-problems. pdf ( Last Consulted 30 April 2012 ) [ 15 ] . Local Histories. “A Brief History of Poverty” hypertext transfer protocol: //www. localhistories. org/povhist. hypertext markup language ( Last Consulted April
