English Poor Laws

The English Poor Law of 1601, also known as the “Elizabethan Poor Law,” created a national administrative system for England, outlining local responsibility for the care of poor persons and families. It established a local government with an appointed public official to act as overseer of the poor, a required local poor tax, and the categorization of dependents into three major groups: able-bodied workers, helpless poor persons, and children.

In addition, the law also spelled out the way and means in which each group of dependents was to be dealt with. Indigent children were recommended to work-oriented apprenticeships while able-bodied poor persons were sent to work programs. Ill, disabled or “helpless” poor persons were sent either to homes or institutions for relief. Most importantly, the law recognized the existence of need and involuntary unemployment while establishing the individual’s right to public assistance.

Similarly, in response to the still existent population of vagrants, a Law of Settlement and Removal was enacted in England in 1662. It provided local authorities with the power to force individuals or families to return to their place of origin and leave a town if they became dependent. Subsequently, the law granted the local government the power and authority to restrict aid to individuals or families deemed as residents.

The English Poor Laws did not completely eradicate the existence of poverty in England but largely helped the impoverished population with some degree of efficiency. Legislation like the English Poor Law of 1601 and the Law of Settlement and Removal would greatly influence the structure of poor laws in the American colonies during the coming centuries.

(Image credit: Washington State University, http://history105.libraries.wsu.edu/fall2014/2014/08/29/the-19th-century-factors-that-lead-to-irish-immigration/ )