Poor Law History

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Poor Law History
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Context

• Course purpose
• Current concerns
• Relevance of Poor Law history, in exploring
• What poverty is and what causes it
• Who are the poor? And why are they poor?
• How to deal with poverty and probable effects of
  supporting the poor

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Whats the Basic Issue?

• Social Intervention When Someones Income Fails
• Or Who is to be Responsible For Economic
  Security?

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Perspective

• Ideas, Frameworks Important Lenses for
• Seeing World
• Judging Circumstances
• Framing Courses of Action

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• Public Policy
• Created at Intersection of
• Events
• Ideas
• In Context of Appropriate Role for Government

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Themes

• Economic, Social Circumstances Experience
• Social Attitudes Ideas
• Role of Government Legitimizing income support

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Underlying Presuppositions

• Male Breadwinner the Keystone of System By Which
  Income Provided to Most Members of Society
• Full-time Pay Should Keep Adult Above Poverty
  Line

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• Policy Goals Self-Reliance Dignity
  Independence Respectability
• Bias Favoring Work, Opposing Idleness
• Focal point treatment of able-bodied

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Alternative Perspectives on Cause of Poverty

• Flawed Character
• Restricted Opportunity
• Big Brother

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Trade-Offs

• Income Adequacy
• Work Incentives
• Individual Liberty
• Program Cost

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Events Illustrating the Debate

• Medieval period, and canon law
• 1601 43rd of Elizabeth
• 1662 Act of Settlement
• 1722 Knatchbulls Act

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• 1782 Gilberts Act
• 1795 Speenhamland
• 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act

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Examples From History of Thought

• Mercantilists
• Smith, Malthus, Ricardo
• Contemporary
• Perspective Grounding in Vision of Economy

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U. S. Events

• Pre-20th Century
• 1930s The New Deal
• 1960s The Great Society
• 1990s Where Do We Go From Here?