Essay on What Does the New Poor Law Tell You About Attitudes Towards the Poor in the Mid-Nineteenth Century?

The 1834 New Poor Law, has been described as one of, “the most important and controversial pieces of legislation”[1], or an act that was more based on continuity, which in many areas, particularly the countryside, was largely ignored[2]. Some historians such as Michael Rose, state that it “made no changes in the existing system” [3]. The New Poor Law is a controversial topic in itself and causes a difference of opinion between historians. The act was based on a few simple principles. One being the idea of “less eligibility” [4] (conditions within a workhouse should be less preferable to those of a hard working laborer)[5], and any over relief that was given outside the workhouse was prohibited[6].

In this essay, I will be answering the question of what the New Poor Law tells us about the attitudes towards the poor during the mid-nineteenth century. I will be particularly focusing upon the views of the government and landed classes towards the poor, as they are the ones who implemented the policy. To do this I will be separating these attitudes into ones I consider positive, (the idea that the government was attempting to help the poor), and the negative, (that it was done to “rob the rights of the people”)[7]. I will also explore the idea that the New Poor Law does not show any attitude towards the poor, but was done for other reasons unrelated to positive and negative attitudes towards them.

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The idea that the attitude of the government and middle classes was, that they should treat the poor in a harsh fashion, is the most well known portrayal of life during the mid-nineteenth century. This has been illustrated in books such as ‘Oliver Twist’, by Charles Dickens, which shows the New Poor Law and its workhouses, having a terrible effect on the lives of the poor[8]. The fact the workhouses were made intentionally “depressing” and “degrading” [9] shows that the government had a negative attitude towards the poor. They wanted to punish them. Historian Hewitt in his book ‘Children in English Society’, describes the difficult living conditions of children in the workhouses. They resided on the same ward as senile old men, the war was staffed by only one nurse[10]. The fact that children of the poor were not spared from the harsh treatment, this “absolute indifference”[11], shows that the government was not interested in the needs of anyone who was poor.

Whole families would be split up upon entering the workhouses, and even after they had exited and put in a huge amount of hard work, they would still have nothing Order A Similar Paper