Paper 3, Option 34.2: Poverty, public health and the state in Britain, c1780–1939 - 3 The government, self-help and charity, 1847–80 — Edexcel A-Level History
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Paper 3, Option 34.2: Poverty, public health and the state in Britain, c1780–1939 - 3 The government, self-help and charity, 1847–80 explained
Paper 3, Option 34.2: Poverty, public health and the state in Britain, c1780–1939 - 3 The government, self-help and charity, 1847–80 covers 3 specification points, including Significance of the Andover workhouse scandal;… and The Charity Organisation Society, Friendly….
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Open a point below for its explanation and revision guidance.
Changing government control: significance of the Andover workhouse scandal; the Poor Law Board; the impact of the Parliamentary Reform Act 1867 on poor law policy; the Local Government Board.
Between 1847 and 1880 changing government control over poor relief was evident. The Andover workhouse scandal of 1845–46, where inmates gnawed bones for food, discredited the Poor Law Commission. In 1847 the Poor Law Board took over, a central authority with a president answerable to Parliament. The impact of the Parliamentary Reform Act 1867 on poor law policy was significant: working-class enfranchisement prompted central government fears of generous local relief, leading to top-down enforcement of strictness. In 1871 the Local Government Board was created, absorbing the Poor Law Board and centralising poor law, public health and local government business under one body. Together these changes show growing but contested state control.
The importance of charity and self-help in dealing with poverty: the Charity Organisation Society, Friendly Societies, trade unions and cooperatives.
During the mid-nineteenth century, state provision for poverty was minimal, making charity and self-help crucial. The Charity Organisation Society (COS), founded in 1869, aimed to distinguish between the 'deserving' and 'undeserving' poor, ensuring aid only went to those who would use it to become self-sufficient. Working-class self-help took several forms. Friendly Societies provided insurance against sickness and death in exchange for weekly subscriptions. Trade unions offered financial support to members during strikes or unemployment. Meanwhile, cooperatives, like the Rochdale Pioneers, allowed workers to buy affordable, unadulterated food and share in the profits, fostering economic independence and mutual support.
The role of individuals in developing and challenging the prevailing orthodoxy: Smiles, Mayhew and Dickens.
Mid-nineteenth-century attitudes towards poverty were shaped and challenged by key individuals. Samuel Smiles developed the prevailing orthodoxy with his 1859 book 'Self-Help', arguing that poverty could be overcome through individual hard work, thrift, and perseverance, implying that destitution was a moral failing. Conversely, Henry Mayhew challenged this view through his investigative journalism in 'London Labour and the London Poor', exposing the structural and economic causes of poverty. Charles Dickens also challenged orthodox views through popular fiction, using novels like 'Oliver Twist' and 'Hard Times' to highlight the cruelty of the workhouse system and humanise the poor, shifting public sympathy.
Your focus
- Describe the significance of the Andover workhouse scandal and its consequences for poor law administration.
- Explain the roles of the Poor Law Board and the Local Government Board.
- Assess the impact of the Parliamentary Reform Act 1867 on poor law policy and practice.
Show all 9 objectives
- Explain the aims and methods of the Charity Organisation Society in dealing with poverty.
- Differentiate between the functions of Friendly Societies, trade unions, and cooperatives.
- Assess the extent to which self-help organisations successfully alleviated working-class poverty.
- Explain how Samuel Smiles' concept of self-help reinforced prevailing Victorian attitudes towards poverty.
- Analyse how Henry Mayhew's investigations challenged the idea that poverty was solely a moral failing.
- Evaluate the role of Charles Dickens' fiction in changing public perceptions of the poor and the workhouse system.
Paper 3, Option 34.2: Poverty, public health and the state in Britain, c1780–1939 - 3 The government, self-help and charity, 1847–80 exam tips
Marking Points
- Explains the significance of the Andover workhouse scandal in exposing cruelty and maladministration and in discrediting the Poor Law Commission.
- Explains the creation and role of the Poor Law Board in 1847 as a central supervisory authority with a parliamentary president.
- Analyses the impact of the Parliamentary Reform Act 1867 on poor law policy, explaining how working-class enfranchisement led to central government enforcing stricter relief.
- Explains the establishment of the Local Government Board in 1871 and its absorption of poor law and public health functions.
- Assesses the extent to which these changes increased central government control over local poor relief.
- Links institutional change to shifts in policy, such as pressure for stricter relief and greater uniformity.
- Evaluate the role of the Charity Organisation Society in systematising philanthropy and reinforcing the concept of the 'deserving' poor.
- Assess the financial security provided by Friendly Societies through mutual insurance against illness and funeral costs.
- Analyse how trade unions functioned as self-help organisations by providing out-of-work benefits and strike pay to skilled workers.
- Explain the economic impact of the cooperative movement in providing affordable goods and a dividend to working-class members.
- Analyse how Samuel Smiles' publication 'Self-Help' reinforced the laissez-faire orthodoxy that individual character, not state intervention, was the solution to poverty.
- Evaluate Henry Mayhew's use of empirical research and interviews to demonstrate that poverty was often caused by low wages and irregular work rather than moral failure.
- Assess the impact of Charles Dickens' literature in raising middle-class awareness of the harsh realities of the New Poor Law and industrialisation.
- Compare the differing methodologies used by these individuals—philosophical writing, investigative journalism, and fiction—to influence public opinion on poverty.
Examiner Tips
- 💡Organise the answer around each named development and its effect on changing government control.
- 💡Use precise dates and institutional names to show secure knowledge.
- 💡Judge change over time by comparing the supervisory role of the Poor Law Board with the broader remit of the Local Government Board.
- 💡Compare the effectiveness of middle-class philanthropy (like the COS) with working-class mutual aid (like cooperatives) in alleviating poverty.
- 💡Use the Rochdale Pioneers as a specific example when discussing the success and principles of the cooperative movement.
- 💡Discuss the limitations of self-help by highlighting how the requirement for regular financial contributions excluded the most destitute.
- 💡Contrast Smiles' emphasis on individual moral responsibility with Mayhew's evidence of systemic economic causes of poverty.
- 💡Use specific examples of Dickens' work, such as the portrayal of the workhouse in 'Oliver Twist', to illustrate how he challenged utilitarian attitudes.
- 💡Evaluate the reach of these individuals by considering their middle-class readership and how this influenced broader political attitudes towards the poor.
Common Mistakes
- Confusing the Poor Law Commission with the Poor Law Board; correction: state that the Commission was replaced in 1847 by the Board, which had a president in Parliament.
- Dating the Local Government Board to 1847; correction: place its creation in 1871, when it absorbed the Poor Law Board.
- Assuming the 1867 Reform Act led local guardians to voluntarily adopt stricter policies; correction: working-class enfranchisement caused central government to fear generous local relief, prompting top-down enforcement of strictness.
- Confusing the roles of different self-help groups; correction: remember that Friendly Societies focused on insurance, while cooperatives focused on affordable retail and profit-sharing.
- Assuming the COS provided unconditional aid; correction: the COS strictly investigated applicants to ensure only the 'deserving' poor received help.
- Overstating the reach of self-help; correction: acknowledge that trade unions and Friendly Societies primarily benefited the skilled working class who could afford regular subscriptions, leaving the poorest unsupported.
- Claiming that Smiles hated the poor; correction: Smiles believed in the potential of the working classes to elevate themselves through thrift and education, rather than despising them.
- Treating Dickens' novels as objective historical reports; correction: identify Dickens' work as social commentary and fiction designed to evoke an emotional response and challenge utilitarianism.
- Grouping Mayhew and Smiles together as reformers; correction: contrast Smiles, who reinforced the orthodoxy of self-reliance, with Mayhew, who challenged it by exposing systemic economic issues.