What Was The Poor Law Amendment Act?
In 1795 a system of poor relief was invented which required parishes to supplement low wages. This was known as the Speenhamland system after the Berkshire town where it was first proposed. Although well-meaning, the system had the effect of encouraging employers to pay starvation wages, knowing that their workers would be fed from the Poor Rates. Eventually in 1834 the Poor Law Amendment Act was passed. Under this Act, relief of poverty was now a matter for national policy. The principle of the new law was simple; relief could only be obtained by entering the nearest workhouse, where conditions were so appalling that many preferred to starve to death rather than go there. It was this law that created the institutions described by Charles Dickens in Oliver Twist, where a starving child’s asking for more food is seen as a shocking act of rebellion. Despite widespread anger at the workhouse system, it survived well into the 20th century.
