Why did Attitudes Toward Poverty Change? The surveys of Booth and Rowntree

1. Why did Attitudes Toward Poverty Change? The surveys of Booth and Rowntree

2. So far…. Britain at end of 19th C - How was it governed? - Poverty worries? The Poor Law system - outdoor and indoor relief? - poorhouses/workhouses? - conditions, was it effective? Self Help - theory and thinker (Who?, what did he think?) - friendly societies, savings banks, cooperative movement problems? Voluntary Aid - range of help from charities - run by middle-class for a number of reasons (fear, concern, opportunity, desire to help and religion)

3. The Surveys of Booth and Rowntree • Two men became well-known as a result of the work they did studying poverty in Britain. • Charles Booth and Seebohm Rowntree were both wealthy men who studied the poor.

4. …contd • At first Booth believed that the level of poverty in Britain was limited and could be dealt with by charity. • In common with most people in his class, he originally believed that if people were poor it was their own fault. • He wanted to know how much hardship there really was in Britain. • Between 1889 and 1903 Booth studied the life of the poor in London and published his findings in a book called ‘Life and Labour of the People in London’. • **COPY ABOVE BULLET POINT** • These finding were very important as they changed his opinion about the ‘limited’ levels of poverty in London. • Booth concluded that 30% of London’s population was living in poverty.

5. Booth’s work • Charles Booth’s work was very important for a number of reasons • His method of working was important: he used scientific methods to put people into recognisable social classes. • He worked out a ‘poverty line’ (a level of income that was needed in order for a family to stay just beyond a life of starvation). • He provided statistics that showed how widespread poverty was. • The scale of the poverty he uncovered could not be met by charitable aid alone. **COPY ABOVE**

6. Population Classification

7. ….contd • Booth’s findings were supported by another person investigating poverty – Seebohm Rowntree • Rowntree was a member of a wealthy chocolate manufacturing family from York. • A committed Christian, Rowntree read Booth’s work and decided to see if the level of poverty in York was different to that in London.

8. Rowntree • In 1901 he published his book ‘Poverty, a Study of Town Life’. • His findings were similar to those of Booth. • Rowntree was important because - He showed that poverty was not just a problem in London. The York study proved that poverty was widespread. One third of the population living in towns lived in poverty. - His study was also important because of the methods he used to carry out his study. Rowntree identified two different types of poverty. Primary poverty was used to describe those whose earnings were so low they could not survive on them alone. Secondary poverty was used to describe those whose earnings were enough to live on but who spent money in a wasteful way. - He put a figure on the amount of money a worker needed to earn in order to maintain a family in a minimum standard of living. **TAKE NOTES FROM ABOVE**

9. A family must never purchase a halfpenny newspaper, or spend a penny to buy a ticket for a popular concert. They must never contribute anything to their church or chapel or give any help to a neighbour…They cannot save, nor can they join sick club or Trade Union because they cannot pay the necessary subscriptions. The children must have no pocket money…The father must smoke no tobacco and must drink no beer. The mother must never buy any clothes for herself or her children. Should a child fall ill, it must be attended by the parish doctor; should it die it must be buried by the parish…The wage earners must never be absent from his work for a single day. Source A From Poverty, A Study of Town Life by B.S Rowntree

10. What else was happening? • Around time of Rowntree’s survey, Britain was involved in the Boer War in South Africa. • In 1900, 222 out of every 1000 recruits had to be turned down because they were unfit due to illnesses associated with being poor in childhood. • If this continued it would be disastrous if Britain became involved in a European war and had to fight someone like Germany

11. Conclusions • These investigators of social conditions found that poverty was not always the fault of the person who was poor. • Many of the elderly, the ill and those without work lived poor lives. • However, many workers were paid wages so low or were not paid regularly enough that they could not afford life’s basic needs. • The poverty of these people was not their fault. • Booth and Rowntree had changed the way poverty was studied – they were very important men! • Thus, POVERTY IN BRITAIN = BAD & WIDESPREAD CAUSE = OUTSIDE CONTROL OF PEOPLE