From Townsend and Malthus to the Poor Law Report
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A Re-Examination of the Cyclical Theory of Social Relief
The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare Volume 12 Issue 1 March Article 2 March 1985 The Origins of English Aging Policy: A Re-Examination of the Cyclical Theory of Social Relief John B. Williamson Boston College Kenneth J. Branco Boston College Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/jssw Part of the Social Welfare Commons, and the Social Work Commons Recommended Citation Williamson, John B. and Branco, Kenneth J. (1985) "The Origins of English Aging Policy: A Re-Examination of the Cyclical Theory of Social Relief," The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare: Vol. 12 : Iss. 1 , Article 2. Available at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/jssw/vol12/iss1/2 This Article is brought to you by the Western Michigan University School of Social Work. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE ORIGINS OF ENGLISH AGING POLICY: A RE-EXAMINATION OF THE CYCLICAL THEORY OF SOCIAL RELIEF JOHN B. WILLIAMSON, Ph.D. KENNETH J. BRANCO, MSW Department of Sociology Boston College ABSTRACT This paper examines the explanatory power of Piven and Cloward's cyclical theory of social relief through an exploration of policies in England from the twelfth through the nineteenth century. While there is evidence of a cyclical trend between restric- tive and liberal policies in this period, we find that those shifts cannot consistently be explained by social turmoil. There is also evidence of a long-term trend toward a more restrictive aging policy which is unaccounted for by cyclical theory. This trend can be better explained by a more basic set of ideas uncerlying cyclical theory, i.e., the needs of a capitalist economic system. -
University of Southampton Research Repository Eprints Soton
University of Southampton Research Repository ePrints Soton Copyright © and Moral Rights for this thesis are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder/s. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given e.g. AUTHOR (year of submission) "Full thesis title", University of Southampton, name of the University School or Department, PhD Thesis, pagination http://eprints.soton.ac.uk UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON FACULTY OF LAW, ARTS & SOCIAL SCIENCES School of Social Sciences Poor Law Reform and Policy Innovation in Rural Southern England, c.1780-1850 by Samantha Anne Shave Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy June 2010 i UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON ABSTRACT FACULTY OF LAW, ARTS & SOCIAL SCIENCES SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES Doctor of Philosophy POOR LAW REFORM AND POLICY INNOVATION IN RURAL SOUTHERN ENGLAND, c.1780-1850 by Samantha Anne Shave Recent analysis in poor law history has uncovered the experiences of individual relief claimants and recipients, emphasising their role in the welfare process. The literature has, however, tended to draw a false dichotomy between understanding the experiences of the individual poor and understanding the administration of the poor laws. This thesis deploys a ‘policy process’ understanding of social policies, a concept developed in the social sciences, to understand the processes driving social policies under the poor laws. -
Lec-4 History of Social Welfare Developments in the UK
Topic 3 THE HISTORY OF AND DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL WELFARE IN THE UK: The history of social welfare in the UK had gone through various phases Before the Old Poor Law: ✓ During the early 1500s, the English government made little effort to address the needs of the poor. ✓ Rather, the poor were taken care of by Christians who were undertaking the seven-corporal works of mercy. ✓ These were deeds aimed to remove the worries and distress of those in need in accordance with their religious teachings. ▪ feed the hungry ▪ give drink to the thirsty ▪ welcome the stranger ▪ clothe the naked ▪ visit the sick ▪ visit the prisoner ▪ bury the dead ✓ The main formal organizations were the Church and the monasteries (a place reserved for prayer which may be a chapel, church or temple, or reserved for monks or nuns). The operation of charity made it possible for some poor people to survive if they left the land and came to the cities. ✓ However, when the Reformation1 happened, many people stopped following this Christian practice and the poor began to suffer greatly. ✓ The poverty and the begging were the ultimate problems followed by the Reformation. In 1531 Henry VI issued license for begging in restricted areas; punishment was given to those who violated the law. ✓ Poverty was one of the major problems Elizabeth faced during her rule. During this period the number of unemployed people grew considerably for a 1 The Reformation was a movement in Western Europe that aimed at reforming the doctrines and practices of the Roman Catholic Church The Monasteries had been dissolved by King Henry VIII in the years following 1536, this source of aid was no longer available to the poor. -
Wage Subsidisation: Some Historical Reflections
THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF WAGE SUBSIDISATION: SOME HISTORICAL REFLECTIONS ESRC Centre for Business Research, University of Cambridge Working Paper No. 201 By Frank Wilkinson Centre for Business Research, and Department of Applied Economics Austin Robinson Building Sidgwick Avenue Cambridge CB3 9DE Tel: 01223 335262 e-mail: [email protected] June 2001 This Working Paper forms part of the CBR Research Programme on Corporate Governance, Contracts and Incentives Abstract Economists explain welfare dependency of the unemployed and in-work poverty by the low labour market quality of the poor. Work can be made to pay by working family tax credits. But these might lower wages and price non- recipients out of the market, widening the eligibility for the wage supplementation and raising social welfare bills. This was precisely the effect of the Speenhamland system of wage supplementation of the early 19th Century which permanently affected labour markets, and attitudes to welfare and the poor. The possibility of working family tax credit having a similar effect cannot be ruled out. JEL Codes: J58, J78, J4, I38 Keywords: Wage supplementation, welfare to work and labour markets. 2 THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF WAGE SUBSIDISATION: SOME HISTORICAL REFLECTIONS 1. Introduction The view in government circles is that the economy has now been bought under control by prudent macroeconomic management. A major remaining problem is the high level of poverty resulting from the persistence of high unemployment and the growth in the number of the working poor. The policy response to this is to make the payment of social welfare dependent on labour market participation by a variety of means, including topping up earnings to some minimum level by means of tax credits. -
The Nottinghamshire Baptists: the Political Scene
The Nottinghamshire Baptists: The Political Scene Nottingham Baptists and Local Political Life No Nottinghamshire Baptists actually entered Parliament during the nineteenth century, though they certainly took steps to influence Parliament from time to time and they took a very active part in local civic and political life. Before the Municipal Reform Act of 1835 Nottingham Corporation was dominated by a number of Whig families with a strong representation from the Unitarian Chapel. This church supplied a number of mayors to the town, though it did not quite achieve the distinction of the Unitarian Chapel in Leicester which was known as the "mayors' nest". Later in the century the Derby Road Baptist Church might justifiably have been given this title. Together with the Castlegate Congregational Church, it supplied the greater proportion of the mayors of Nottingham during the century. At the beginning of the nineteenth century Baptists comprised about ten per cent of the town council. The Council at this period has been praised for its long record of genuine public service and blamed for resisting the enclosure of common land. Common lands existed on three sides of the town and, as the population was rapidly increasing, intense overcrowding was inevitable, unless the common lands were enclosed and built upon. This, coupled with bad housing and poor sanitation, led to an exceedingly high mortality rate. The responsibilities of a town council were far less than is the case today. They included poor relief, the maintenance of order and, in Notting ham, the administration of certain trusts, known collectively as the "council"estate", and mostly ear-marked for particular purposes such as charities and the upkeep of the Trent bridge. -
Book Review of the English Poor Laws, 1700-1930
College of William & Mary Law School William & Mary Law School Scholarship Repository Faculty Publications Faculty and Deans 2002 Book Review of The nE glish Poor Laws, 1700-1930 Michael Ashley Stein Repository Citation Stein, Michael Ashley, "Book Review of The nE glish Poor Laws, 1700-1930" (2002). Faculty Publications. 704. https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/facpubs/704 Copyright c 2002 by the authors. This article is brought to you by the William & Mary Law School Scholarship Repository. https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/facpubs 736 The Cambridge Law Journal [2002] The English Poor Laws, 1700~1930. By ANTHONY BRUNDAGE. [Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. 2001. vii and 185 pp. Hardback. £49.50. ISBN 0-- 333~68271 ~8.] THIS latest addition to the Palgrave series on Social History in Perspective is a concise and systematic overview of the Poor Law system from the beginning of the 18th century through to its demise in 1930. Well written, The English Poor Law is intended as an introduction to the subject for students of law, history, and/or society, and therefore offers a very short account. Fortunately, the knowledgeable Professor Brundage (whose earlier books include an analysis of the New Poor Law and a biography of one of its facilitators, Edwin Chadwick) provides first-rate end notes and an C.L.J. Book Reviews 737 extensive bibliography. In consequence, those wishing to learn more of this interesting topic have been afforded the means for additional research. Organised chronologically, the eight chapters of The English Poor Laws mclude an introduction and conclusion. The inductory chapter ("Approaching English Poor Law History") sets forth the author's methodology. -
EH.Net Encyclopedia English Poor Laws
EH.Net Encyclopedia: English Poor Laws http://eh.net/encyclopedia/article/boyer.poor.laws.england English Poor Laws George Boyer, Cornell University A compulsory system of poor relief was instituted in England during the reign of Elizabeth I. Although the role played by poor relief was significantly modified by the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834, the Crusade Against Outrelief of the 1870s, and the adoption of various social insurance programs in the early twentieth century, the Poor Law continued to assist the poor until it was replaced by the welfare state in 1948. For nearly three centuries, the Poor Law constituted "a welfare state in miniature," relieving the elderly, widows, children, the sick, the disabled, and the unemployed and underemployed (Blaug 1964). This essay will outline the changing role played by the Poor Law, focusing on the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The Origins of the Poor Law While legislation dealing with vagrants and beggars dates back to the fourteenth century, perhaps the first English poor law legislation was enacted in 1536, instructing each parish to undertake voluntary weekly collections to assist the "impotent" poor. The parish had been the basic unit of local government since at least the fourteenth century, although Parliament imposed few if any civic functions on parishes before the sixteenth century. Parliament adopted several other statutes relating to the poor in the next sixty years, culminating with the Acts of 1597-98 and 1601 (43 Eliz. I c. 2), which established a compulsory system of poor relief that was administered and financed at the parish (local) level. -
The Political Economy of Inclusion: the Rise and Fall of the Workhouse System
Journal of the History of Economic Thought THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF INCLUSION: THE RISE AND FALL OF THE WORKHOUSE SYSTEM B Y QA COSMA ORSI The aim of this article is to describe the rise and fall of the workhouse system in connection with the developments that took place in economic thought in the tran- sition from mercantilism to the Classical tradition. By examining the economic debate about wages, effi ciency, labor market, workers’ mobility, and unemploy- ment, we discuss whether the social policy shift epitomized by institutional reforms like the Gilbert Act (1782), the Rose Act (1793), and the Speenhamland system (1795) was accompanied and eventually inspired by a change in the perception of major political economy issues. In doing so, we review the writings of Jacob Vanderlint (d. 1740), George Berkeley (1685–1753), Malachy Postlethwayt (1707?–1767), Josiah Tucker (1713–1799), David Hume (1711–1776), and Adam Smith (1723-1790), among others. Although a direct infl uence by these writers cannot be proven, the originality of the present work rests on the effort to put into perspective the arguments elaborated by economic thinkers and the proposals made by social reformers so as to identify possible connections between economic theorizing and social legislation. I. INTRODUCTION The aim of this article is to describe the rise and fall of the workhouse system in con- nection with the developments that took place in economic thought in the transition from mercantilism to the Classical tradition. From the Gilbert Act of 1782 to the estab- lishment of the New Poor Law (1834), English social legislation shifted from a safety Cosma Orsi , Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore—Economics , Largo Gemelli 1 , Milan 20123 , Italy . -
Speenhamland, Automation and the Basic Income: a Lesson from History? Renewal: a Journal of Social Democracy, 25(3-4), 145-155
Pitts, F. H. , Lombardozzi, L., & Warner, N. (2017). Speenhamland, automation and the basic income: A lesson from history? Renewal: A Journal of Social Democracy, 25(3-4), 145-155. https://www.lwbooks.co.uk/renewal/25-3-4/automation-and-basic- income Peer reviewed version Link to publication record in Explore Bristol Research PDF-document This is the author accepted manuscript (AAM). The final published version (version of record) is available online via Lawrence & Wishart at https://www.lwbooks.co.uk/renewal/25-3-4/automation-and-basic-income . Please refer to any applicable terms of use of the publisher. University of Bristol - Explore Bristol Research General rights This document is made available in accordance with publisher policies. Please cite only the published version using the reference above. Full terms of use are available: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/red/research-policy/pure/user-guides/ebr-terms/ This is an author-produced pre-publication PDF of an article accepted for publication in Renewal: A Journal of Social Democracy following peer review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version will be available online at: http://www.renewal.org.uk/ The citation should be given as follows: Pitts, F. H., Lombardozzi, L., and Warner, N., 2017. Speenhamland, automation and the basic income: A lesson from history? Renewal: A Journal of Social Democracy. In press. 1 Speenhamland, automation and the basic income: A lesson from history? Frederick Harry Pitts University of Bristol Lorena Lombardozzi School of Oriental and African Studies Neil Warner University College Dublin Introduction Proposals for a basic income have a long history in which they have issued from all corners of the political spectrum- right, left and centre. -
Experiences of Poverty in Early Industrial England
W&M ScholarWorks Undergraduate Honors Theses Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 5-2020 Worthy Widows, Feckless Fathers, and Innocent Babes: Experiences of Poverty in Early Industrial England Emma Diduch Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/honorstheses Part of the European History Commons, History of Gender Commons, and the Labor History Commons Recommended Citation Diduch, Emma, "Worthy Widows, Feckless Fathers, and Innocent Babes: Experiences of Poverty in Early Industrial England" (2020). Undergraduate Honors Theses. Paper 1450. https://scholarworks.wm.edu/honorstheses/1450 This Honors Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Undergraduate Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Worthy Widows, Feckless Fathers, and Innocent Babes: Experiences of Poverty in Early Industrial England A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in History from The College of William and Mary by Emma Grace Diduch Accepted for _Highest Honors_________________________________ (Honors, High Honors, Highest Honors) _Amy Limoncelli_______________________________________ Professor Amy Limoncelli, Director ____Kathrin Levitan____________________________________ Professor Kathrin Levitan ____Deborah D. Morse____________________________________ Professor Deborah Morse Williamsburg, -
Five Hundred Years of English Poor Laws, 1349-1834: Regulating the Working and Nonworking Poor William P
The University of Akron IdeaExchange@UAkron Akron Law Review Akron Law Journals July 2015 Five Hundred Years of English Poor Laws, 1349-1834: Regulating the Working and Nonworking Poor William P. Quigley Please take a moment to share how this work helps you through this survey. Your feedback will be important as we plan further development of our repository. Follow this and additional works at: http://ideaexchange.uakron.edu/akronlawreview Part of the Labor and Employment Law Commons, Law and Economics Commons, and the Social Welfare Law Commons Recommended Citation Quigley, William P. (1997) "Five Hundred Years of English Poor Laws, 1349-1834: Regulating the Working and Nonworking Poor," Akron Law Review: Vol. 30 : Iss. 1 , Article 4. Available at: http://ideaexchange.uakron.edu/akronlawreview/vol30/iss1/4 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Akron Law Journals at IdeaExchange@UAkron, the institutional repository of The nivU ersity of Akron in Akron, Ohio, USA. It has been accepted for inclusion in Akron Law Review by an authorized administrator of IdeaExchange@UAkron. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Quigley: Regulating the Working and Nonworking Poor Five Hundred Years of English Poor Laws, 1349-1834: Regulating the Working and Nonworking Poor by * William P. Quigley I. Introduction Like other and more famous English institutions, the making and administration of the English Poor Law was a growth, not a creation.1 Certain it is, that, on the welfare of its labouring Poor, the prosperity of a country essentially depends . Sir Frederic Eden, The State of the Poor (1797)2 The English poor laws, beginning with the Statute of Laborers of 1349-1350 and proceeding to the reforms of 1834, regulated both the working and nonworking poor.3 From feudalism through 500 years of regulation by the poor laws work and poverty journeyed hand in hand. -
What We Talk About When We Talk About Poverty W W W
The DaWS Working Paper Series is published by and edited at the Danish Centre for Welfare Studies (DaWS) at the University of Southern Denmark. It aims to advance academic knowledge in comparative welfare states and public policies by provid-ing advance access to promising new theoretical and empirical research in political science, political economy, sociology and history. WP 2018 - 3 Series Chief Editor: Pieter Vanhuysse ([email protected]) Editorial Board: Heidi Vad Jønsson Romana Careja Peter Starke Melike Wulfgramm DANISH CENTRE FOR WELFARE STUDIES UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN DENMARK Cathie Jo Martin & Tom Chevalier Boston University & Harvard Center for European Studies What We Talk about When We Talk about Poverty w w w . s d u . d k / w e l f a r e What We Talk about When We Talk about Poverty Cathie Jo Martin (Boston University) *& Tom Chevalier (Harvard Center for European Studies) *Corresponding Author: Professor of Political Science, Boston University, 232 Bay State Road, Boston, MA 02215 Email: [email protected] INTRODUCTION In March 2006, French youth took to the streets to protest a “flexicurity” model of labor regulation that would allow employers easily to lay-off and to pay sub-minimum wages to young workers. French citizens rejected measures that could potentially weaken labor market projections for core workers, and preferred to use charity and passive benefits for marginal workers such as unemployed youth. In sharp contrast, Danes across the political spectrum readily supported their “flexicurity” model – which combined strong work requirements for the unemployed with extensive training – as a means of ensuring that all potential workers would make an economic contribution to society.