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How successful was the Victorian poor law?
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| Submitted: Tue May 11 2004
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HOW SUCCESSFUL WAS THE VICTORIAN POOR LAW? One of the most far reaching pieces of legislation in Britain, of the entire 19th century was the 1834 Poor Law, which abolished systems of poor relief that had been in practice since the Elizabethan times, such as the Elizabethan Poor Law of 1601. The aim of this Act had been to grant the poor outdoor relief from the parish itself. It was an obligation of the parish to relieve the poor. This law was subject to social interventions from time to time during the 17th and the 18th centuries, such as the 1722 Workhouse Test Act and the 1782 Gilbert Act. [Fraser, 2003:37] Until around the beginning of the 19th century poverty was accepted as a fact of life. However, socio-economic changes, the agrarian revolution, industrialisation and the after effects of the French wars caused heavy unemployment resulting in increased poverty. Implementation of...
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