Elizabethan Poor Law Research Paper

The basic principles of the Elizabethan Poor Laws of 1601 were “local investigation and administration of relief, work as a component of all assistance, and categorization of the poor into three groups: the able-bodied poor, the impotent poor, and dependent children” (Day & Schiele, 2013, p. 104). Basically, creating a welfare system to help assist the poor, implementing programs to get people working, and categorizing the poor as worthy or unworthy poor. Examples of this in the present social welfare system are TANF, unemployment insurance, Social Security, SSI, and SDI. Within the TANF and unemployment program, there is a job search requirement to encourage people to find work. Also, much like the Elizabethan Poor Laws, people are categorized to receive specific benefits based on whether they can work or not, like SSI, which is for people who are currently unable to work because of old age or disability.

The town council of Dijon, France proposed to care for the poor using their own utilities of shelter during the 15th century (doc. 2). The poorhouses of Suffolk County, England required harsh treatment of the poor (doc. 7). Being of England during the height of poverty, the poorhouses of Suffolk County complied with the English Poor Laws, legislation that supported harsher treatment of the poor for their impotence and begging. Jean Maillefer stated that the poor of the seventeenth century have grown independent from higher classes, begging less for the charity of others (doc. 11). Having listened to the poor, Maillefer concluded that their simple life does not need assistance from wealthy merchants such as himself. As the amount of poverty in Europe rose, the care for their well-being dwindled from the volunteered charity of the 15th century humanists, to the institutionalized subsidizing of the 16th century resulted from the growing poverty, to the lack of aid in the 17th century resulted from the independence of the poor away from the care of the upper

During the colonial period, the Elizabethan poor laws were adopted to address the social issue of poverty. Residency was a main factor in determining who was eligible for aid. Categories "worthy" and "unworthy" were set to determine who would qualify for assitance. Unfortunately the individuals in the "unworthy" category were the very individuals more in need of assistance.

The Poor Law act 1601 was introduced and classified the poor into three groups, setting policies for each, the impotent poor, able bodied poor and persistent idler. It viewed poverty as the fault of the person, not their situation. Following industrialisation and a decrease in agricultural jobs, workers moved to factories working for low pay and in appalling conditions, but those needing employment outweighed the availability of such.

The topic of this paper is to shed light on the issue of welfare. The original purpose and intent for social welfare was to temporarily ease the plight of the poor at no cost to the middle and upper class. Overtime, it has become a burden America’s taxpayers have had to unrightfully carry. Welfare has been reformed in the past, but many still believe it is a failing program. Citizens and non citizens are both taking advantage of the program that was intended to help. Even after multiple reformations, this program continues to fall back into the same issues repeatedly. Taking care of the poor was not intended to be the role of the government. Biblically, that job has been delegated to the church. Social welfare is giving the government more

The concept of “worthy poor and unworthy poor” subsists within contemporary Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs today. According to the conditions of the English Poor Laws, certain individuals (e.g., widows, children, ill, disabled, etc.) are considered dependent and thus in need of help, whereas others (e.g., lazy, able-bodied adults, etc.) considered voluntarily poor (Stern & Axinn, 2012). Today, each state has their own eligibility requirements for TANF assistance, however most funds are dispersed according to qualifiable needs. For

During the Elizabethan England era there was an outburst of poverty. Others may say that the poverty was not an issue, but they are mistaken.The poverty created a big issue for the poor because they looked down upon them and didn’t try to help then so more and more people were becoming broke. “Poverty became a widespread problem during the Elizabethan era, so much so that Parliament was forced to enact laws aimed at dealing with the country’s poor on a number of occasions. Initially, these laws took a harsh view of the poor and even went so far as to criminalize begging and institute severe punishments for those who were caught in the act.”(Elizabethan Class System.) This shows that so many people were in debut or below the poverty line that they needed to enforce a law. It was such a bad life that people who need to get money by begging the act in force it as a crime.

At this time there was a growing population of ill, disabled, elderly, orphans, and widows with young children (Stern & Axinn, 2012, p.18). The economic need had risen after the wars and diseases such as small pox, measles, and yellow fever (Stern & Axinn, 2012, p.18). As the growing poor population began to steal resources to survive, the poor laws were put in place to stop these people from taking from others but also to establish a system of help. Although help was being implemented the old views of destitute began to change during the colonial period, these individuals were no longer being viewed as being born into unfortunate circumstances. Society was shifting their view from a mutual obligation society to a society that valued individual responsibility and individual salvation (Stern & Axinn, 2012, p.19). When the poor laws were adopted in American colonies it was specifically looking to ensure that colonist who were in need due to unfortunate events that occurred, would be able to receive cash relief. The poor laws were specifically trying to establish control over these individuals but also wanted to continue to follow old traditions of helping the poor (Stern & Axinn, 2012,

If I were poverty stricken in the early seventeenth century, I would become an indentured servant to get to the New World. I would travel to the New World because there was a better chance at prosperity than by remaining in England. In England in the seventeenth century there were not many jobs that offered enough to become a landowner. By becoming an indentured servant in the early seventeenth century you were able travel across the Atlantic to the New World and make a living. After you served as an indentured servant for your term of indenture you were free and able to purchase your own land. Land in the early seventeenth century was much less expensive than in England and you would have a real chance at making a good life. However,

The Elizabethan Poor Law was passed in 1601. This law enforced all church communities to annually on Easter select a couple of head supervisors over the indigent. They were not compensated for their time. Usually those chosen did not want the position but they were supervised making sure that they were doing the work. This law helped keep order during that era and reduced the beggars and poverty-stricken in the streets. There were two kinds of help the outdoor and indoor help. The outdoor help meant that if the needy still had their place of residence then they could acquire some cash or obtain needed clothing or food. Outdoor help was most commonly used during these times. Indoor help was when a family was taken to a community almshouse. The

As the British came over to America, many ideas and government laws and practices came along with the people. The British people came to America to create a new and better life therefore they desired to create an improved government. Laws and practices were brought over with the people but were adapted and amended in many ways. The Elizabethan Poor Law, a law that established a way for the government to assist the needy, had been in place for for over 250 years in England (p.11). The Poor Law of 1601 was the head start of the colonists initiative to nurture the needy.

United States Government Welfare began in the 1930’s during the Great Depression. Franklin D. Roosevelt thought of this system as an aid for low-income families whose men were off to war, or injured while at war. The welfare system proved to be beneficial early on by giving families temporary aid, just enough to help them accommodate their family’s needs. Fast forward almost 90 years, and it has become apparent that this one once helpful system, has become flawed. Welfare itself and the ideologies it stands on, contains decent fundamentals; furthermore, this system of aid needs only to be reformed to better meet the needs of today’s society.

The Poor Law was introduced because it was too much money to pay to look after the poor, so in hopes to take the poor off the streets and to stop money going to the poor the government introduced the law in 1834. The law was also put in place to embolden the poor to get back into work and support themselves, There was a law before 1834 called the "Old Poor Law" this was found to be insufficient because there was nothing in place to help the poor because even though they set up workhouses for the poor they didn't offer accommodation for the poor. There was an act passed in 1795 called "The Speenhamland System" which allowed employers to pay their workers exceptionally low wages during these years the middle and the upper classes were getting more angry because they were the ones paying for the poor who would avoid not going to or do any work.

The history of social welfare begins during colonization. Although there was not social work, there was some form of public assistance. Public assistance during colonization consisted of Early American Poor Laws. During this time the poor were referred to as “paupers” because they were unemployed and were required to wear P’s so they could be identified. The belief during this time was that it was the relative’s

Prior to the Elizabethan poor laws, the practice of social welfare consisted of voluntary subscription to a poor-relief fund by the poor coupled with the use of harsh punishment to discourage vagabonds and beggars (Guest, 1997). This practice related to a general assumption that paupers or rather the poor suffered from moral deficiency that render them poor and dependent (Hasenfeld & Garrow, 2012). In this regard, the treatment of the poor was most often than not harsh. The Elizabethan poor laws however ushered in a new dispensation that resumed full public responsibility for the poor and the destitute in the society. The establishment of a public tax-supported system aimed at providing