levo

Britain, c1785–c1870: Democracy, Protest and Reform

The old Poor Law and pressure for change

  • 3 things to know
  • Paper 1

Overview

Recall questions on how parish relief worked, Speenhamland and the Roundsman system, utilitarian argument, and the financial pressure on ratepayers.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started
Key term

What was the Speenhamland system of 1795?

Numbers

Who was Edwin Chadwick and how was he linked to the Poor Law?

Key term

What was the case against Speenhamland?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What was the Speenhamland system of 1795?

    Model answer

    A scheme of poor relief that topped up labourers' wages according to bread prices and family size, funded from the poor rate.

  2. 2

    Who was Edwin Chadwick and how was he linked to the Poor Law?

    Model answer

    A key architect of the 1834 reform and secretary to the Poor Law Commission, later prominent in public health reform.

  3. 3

    How did the 1834 Poor Law treat the 'deserving' and 'undeserving' poor?

    Model answer

    It sought to distinguish the genuinely helpless (aged, sick) from the able-bodied, whom it aimed to force into work by denying easy relief.

  4. 4

    How did the old Poor Law work?

    Model answer

    Each parish levied a rate and relieved its own poor, mostly by outdoor relief in cash or kind, administered by overseers under the framework of 1601.

  5. 5

    What did the Poor Removal Act of 1795 change?

    Model answer

    It stopped parishes removing newcomers to their parish of settlement merely because they might need relief, allowing removal only once they actually applied for it.

  6. 6

    What was the case against Speenhamland?

    Model answer

    Critics argued it subsidised low-paying farmers, discouraged effort, encouraged early marriage and large families, and drove the rates upwards without reducing poverty.

Other ways to work this

The same content, four other ways.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

1Closed book
2Open book
3Closed book

The 3-step method, run for you

Answer cold, learn it, then prove it stuck. Levo tracks the jump between your first attempt and your last.

The Crusades, c1095–1204
England, 1509–1603: Authority, Nation and Religion
Britain, 1625–1701: Conflict, Revolution and Settlement
Britain, c1785–c1870: Democracy, Protest and Reform

Cram a whole paper in one sitting

Sort every topic into what you know and what you do not, then drill only the weak ones.

Luis de .
RequesensAlbaGranvelle

Blank Blitz makes facts automatic

Rapid timed gap-fills on the terms and numbers you need to recall without thinking.

AThe government admitted 96 dead and 333 wounded.
BOther estimates run to several hundred dead.
COpponents claimed thousands.

Build It gets the exam shape right

Assemble a full-mark answer from its marking points, in the order an examiner wants them.

Robert Aske led the Pilgrimage of Grace.
TrueFalse

Test It catches misconceptions

Spot the fault in a statement. The traps are the mistakes students actually make.

721941163128510

Brain Breaks between sessions

Short focus games to reset attention, so the next set lands better than the last.

Every question in Britain, c1785–c1870: Democracy, Protest and Reform, on a schedule.

Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.

Or £46 a year, about £3.83 a month. Cancel anytime.