HOW SUCCESSFUL WAS THE POOR LAW AMENDMENT ACT IN TACKLING POVERTY IN GREAT BRITAIN IN THE 19TH CENTURY? The English Poor Law of 1601 The Poor Law of 1601 was the first to codify the idea of the state to provide for the welfare of its citizens. It distinguished between the ‘deserving’ and the ‘undeserving’ poor; relief was local and community controlled.1 The 1834 Poor Law Act Amendment Act was an amendment to the Act for the relief of The English Poor Law of 1601.The Speenhamland SystemThe Speenhamland System first saw light of day in 1795. It was introduced by the magistrates in the Berkshire village of Speenhamland in an effort to relieve the extreme poverty, which existed and was adopted widely. It offered any one, or several forms of relief including:(a) Allowances to supplement earned wages. (b) The amount of relief to be given was calculated on the price of a gallon loaf of bread (weighing 8lb. 7oz.) and the number of children a man had. The 1834 Poor Law Amendment ActThe 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act was introduced as a result of Earl Grey, the Prime Minister, setting up a Poor Law Commission to examine the working of the poor Law system in Britain. In their report published in 1834, the Commission made several recommendations to Parliament. As a result, the Poor Law Amendment Act was passed.Indoor relief in workhouses replaced outdoor relief (money or goods, that enabled the poor to stay in their own homes), and workhouses were made repellent to encourage the able bodied to maintain themselves and their families.The major aim of the New Poor Law was to deter people from claiming poor relief and at the very heart of the Act the Victorians’ central commitment to self-reliance or independence. The Poor Law was the big stick meant to drive them back to respectable, valuable work. INTRODUCTIONThe introduction of The 1834 Poor Law Act fundamentally altered the rights and expectations of the able-bodied ...
