“The good we secure for ourselves is precarious and uncertain until it is secured for all of us and incorporated into our common life,” said Jane Addams, a pioneering sociologist and social reformer. Poverty is like a silent wildfire. If even one being suffers from its treachery, an entire nation lives in fury and despair. One of the first policies to cure the horror of poverty was the English Poor Laws of 1601. These laws were passed under Queen Elizabeth I’s rule and remained in force for more than 250 years with only minor changes. Ultimately, the policies of the English Poor Laws were distilled into four categories: programs, eras, recollections, and criticisms.

English Poor Law Programs

One of the major programs created by the English Poor Laws was the construction of workhouses. Indeed, unemployment is a major cause of poverty in any nation. As a result, many individuals who were unemployed due to a lack of skills or discrimination were provided jobs. To address poverty amongst individuals with disabilities, the government gave them access to almshouses, which were shelters where impoverished individuals incapable of working could reside. Interestingly, these almshouses became the ancestor of many types of shelters, such as asylums and sanatoriums. Almshouses were usually managed by volunteers who relied on charities and small amounts of money from the government. Upgrading parts of the almshouses was sometimes difficult and complex because of a lack of funding, but these shelters were still effective in keeping disabled individuals housed. Moreover, the policies also established work provisions, under which parishes provided tools, materials, or employment opportunities for the unemployed poor. This was a great way to provide individuals with opportunities to work without incurring financial burdens through setup costs.

On the other hand, in addition to the establishments of almshouses and work provision programs, the English Poor Law established negative policies such as mandatory apprenticeships for poor children. These apprenticeships obligated children from three groups to work as apprentices: orphans, children born out of wedlock, and children with poor parents. In these apprenticeship programs, apprentice masters were to teach their apprentices, known as wards in the records, to read and write as well as provide food, shelter, and clothing as stipulated by the law. This provided crucial support and care for children living in poverty. In addition, working as an apprentice allowed the children to learn how to read and write, something that was difficult when they were homeless on the streets. However, the government should have provided children the option to live in an almshouse but not be able to earn a living or learn a trade, or opt into an apprenticeship program and learn a trade to become an apprentice master in the future. This would be different from the Poor Law since it would provide children with choices rather than force them to work tenaciously. Additionally, it would have been paramount for the government to enforce rules that prohibited apprentice masters from coercing their apprentices to partake in laborious and strenuous tasks and prohibit individuals from beating or hitting their apprentices. It must have also been enforced that apprentices are permitted to take sick leave in the case of an illness or disease. Through these amendments to the English Poor Law Programs, impoverished children will be able to surmount their abysmal conditions through lawful workplace conditions.

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English Poor Law Eras

The English Poor Law is characterized by five specific eras:

• Elizabethan Era - The English Poor Laws were first introduced by the English government under Queen Elizabeth I’s reign. As a result of increased inflation and unemployment in England, the government wanted to create a path to employment for impoverished individuals and ensure food and shelter for disabled citizens and children. These initial laws required that parishes collect funds through taxes to provide relief to the poor, and these funds, in addition to donations, served as the backbone of the funding of the programs. The Elizabethan Era also established two forms of poverty: deserving poor and undeserving poor. The deserving poor constituted elderly individuals, people with disabilities, and children with illnesses. The undeserving poor included adults but also some able-bodied children. These children were forced into apprenticeship programs, and the adults were required to work with the consequence of prison.
• Settlement Era - The Law of Settlement and Removal of 1662 was passed under the reign of King Charles II. This policy was passed because many citizens were irate that some parishes were more generous than others, and because of this, many individuals moved to these generous parishes to exploit their relief. Consequently, the Law of Settlement and Removal of 1662 enforced that if one left a parish, one must bring a Settlement Certificate that guaranteed that one’s home parish would pay for one’s ‘removal’ costs from another parish back to one’s home parish if one became a claimant on the poor rates. This era ended the exploitation of generous parishes and enforced that one receives benefits solely from one’s home parish.
• Speenhamland Era - Following a decision by local magistrates near Newbury, Berkshire, on May 6, 1795, the Speenhamland system was a practice of economic relief that was passed to address concerns of rising poverty during industrialization in the 18th century. This era was during the reign of King George III. Because the cost of living was not evenly disbursed across the country, funding would be determined based on the cost of living in each parish. This allowance was designated as the price of 3 gallon loaves a week for each man, plus the cost of 1.5 loaves each for a wife and every child.
• New Poor Era - The New Poor Era lasted from 1834 to the 20th century. This era began after the passage of the 1834 Poor Law under the reign of King William IV. The policies were meant to reduce the cost of looking after the poor and encourage poor people to work hard to support themselves. However, such a drastic change in welfare policy seems extremely vicious because, in fact, workhouses experienced an environment of overwork, distress, and overcrowding. In fact, a man named Richard Oastler called the workhouses “Prisons for the Poor.”
• Modern Transition Era - The Modern Transition began in the late 19th century with growing criticisms of workhouses and the callous conditions of the workhouses created by the Poor Law of 1834. With the rise of modern welfare policies, the system’s effect started to diminish, and finally, with the passing of the National Assistance Act 1948, which abolished all the Poor Laws of the past. One important establishment after the passing of the act was the creation of the National Assistance Board, which provided monetary assistance to people over the age of 16 who were without resources. In addition, the new law, which is still active today as the main welfare policy of the nation, made it compulsory for residential care homes for the disabled and elderly to be registered. Power was also given to local authorities to inform their communities about services available to disabled individuals.

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Recollections of the English Poor Laws

Recollections, defined as “the action or faculty of remembering something,” are important in terms of policy legacy and influence. As one of the first official national welfare policies in the world, the English Poor Laws hold a plethora of recollections. One of the first recollections created by these laws is the lasting distinction between “deserving” and “undeserving” poor. The criteria continue to be used today in welfare policy planning. Moreover, the English Poor Laws held an influence on even a literary scale. Authors like Charles Dickens depicted the cruelty of the workhouses in his 1838 novel Oliver Twist. Many individuals started to associate the word “workhouse” with overcrowding and suffering. On the other hand, many economists like Thomas Malthus, who were against some of the good parts of the legislation, argued that the English Poor Laws encouraged laziness and overpopulation. These arguments are what contributed to the inhumane conditions created by the 1834 Poor Law. Furthermore, many programs in the English Poor Laws, like the parish-based relief plan and settlement laws, were brought and established in American colonies and influenced many early American welfare policies. The English Poor Laws also motivated many activists to powerfully call out the injustice of the workhouses, calling policymakers to create systems that were more humane. Journalists like the famous Nellie Bly, who wrote her historic book Ten Days in a Mad-House, were motivated by the English Poor Laws to call out the inhumane conditions of asylums for the mentally ill and advocate for humane conditions in sanatoriums. Ultimately, the effects of the English Poor Laws continue to be seen today and remain a cardinal influence on welfare policy worldwide.

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Conclusion

The English Poor Law was a significant step forward in welfare policy, but further changes are still needed to ensure that every human, regardless of income or disability, has access to the basic physiological needs of food, water, and shelter. No human deserves to be impoverished with no chance to overcome despair, and every human deserves the chance to live their life free from poverty. Just like the potent words from Jane Addams, if there are still human beings unjustly unhoused, this planet is not free from despair. If we can prudently utilize the historic positives of the English Poor Laws and amend their drawbacks, we can create welfare policies that free us from the risk of the silent wildfire of poverty.

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Works Cited

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Archives, The National. “The National Archives - Homepage.” Text. The National Archives, n.d. Accessed July 24, 2025. https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/1834-poor-law/.

Bradford, Erin. “LibGuides: Finding Children: Apprentice and Related Records, 1716-1900: Historical Background.” Accessed July 24, 2025. https://statelibrary.ncdcr.libguides.com/findingchildren/background.

Cullen, Mick & Matthew. Social Work and Social Welfare: Modern Practice in a Diverse World. n.d. https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/92812/student/?section=3.

Policy Navigator. “The National Assistance Act 1948.” Accessed July 24, 2025. https://navigator.health.org.uk/theme/national-assistance-act-1948.

Social Welfare History Project. “English Poor Laws.” January 19, 2011. https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/programs/poor-laws/.

“Speenhamland System | Poor Law, Poverty, Relief | Britannica.” Accessed July 24, 2025. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Speenhamland-system.

“The 1662 Settlement Act.” Accessed July 24, 2025. https://victorianweb.org/history/poorlaw/settle.html.

The Almshouse Association. “Almshouses Today.” Accessed July 24, 2025. https://www.almshouses.org/almshouses-today/.