Social welfare policy history

1. Historical Events
● Learning Outcome: Identify major historical events
and people that have influenced the social work
profession and social welfare.

2. Historical Events
● Rooted in Judeo-Christian thought. Those more
fortunate should help those less fortunate.
● The church was active in the redistribution of
resources from the rich to the poor.

3. Historical Events
● In 1348 the Black Death (bubonic plague) killed
almost 1/3 of the English population.
Which led to:

4. Historical Events
● In 1349 -Statute of Laborers - was a law created by the
English parliament under King Edward III in 1351 in response to a labour
shortage, designed to suppress the labour force by prohibiting increases in
wages and prohibiting the movement of workers from their home areas in
search of improved conditions
- Therefore, wages during the Black Death were set even lower to match those
during this depression. In practice, the statute was poorly enforced and
unsuccessful, but it set a precedent that distinguished between labourers who
were "able in body" to work and those who could not work for whatever
reasons. This distinction resurfaced in later laws regarding poverty.
This was the first time in history that we saw abled bodied come into law.

5. Historical Events
● In 1531 another statute was passed forbidding able-
bodies people from begging.

6. Historical Events
● The Elizabethan Poor Law of 1601; this was the first
time in history that there was a formal law
established that deemed welfare/caring for the poor
as a public responsibility. The law put “needy people”
in two groups:
● 1. Worthy Poor - Ill, disabled, orphans, and elders.

7. Historical Events
● 2. Unworthy Poor - included vagrant or able-
bodied who, although able to work did not seek
employment.

8. Types of assistance provided by Elizabethan Law
Outdoor relief - was aid to a person or family in the
home; the assistance may have been cash but generally
was in-kind provisions such as food and clothing.
Outdoor relief was only offered to those deemed as
“worthy poor”.
Indoor relief - The unworthy poor were not provided
aid in their homes but were typically moved to the
local poor house.

9. Where did the funds come from?
The funds for the two different types of relief came
from a special county-level tax. This tax was assessed
by a local “overseer of the poor”.
The “overseer of the poor” was an colonial version of a
social worker. The responsibilities of this position
included identifying and assessing the local poor to
determine if they were worthy or unworthy and to
determine how much relief they qualified for.

10. Questions
● Do you think it worked?
● How does this compare to how we treat the poor in
the US in the current day?

11. Historical Events
● The English Poor Law Reforms of 1834

12. Historical Events
● Three trends resulted from these reforms:
● Public Attitudes towards the poor became hostile and
resentful.
● The public came to blame the poor for their poverty.
● The concept of being “less eligible”, the idea that benefits
should be lower than what the poorest working people
earn.
○ Therefore those on public assistance should be the
poorest.

13. Historical Events
● Do you see any similarities between this and our
society in the US today?

14. Historical Events
● In Colonial times, people with mental illness were
often referred to as “lunatics” These people were
often cared for by their family or boarded out to
other families.
● As time passed, almshouses became the norm.
● Almshouses - began in the early 1700s. At first they
were a last resort/shelter for the unworthy poor,
medically ill, mentally ill, and orphans. All ages
and sexs were welcome.

15. Historical Events
● Moral Treatment Movement- 1770’s-1900
● During this time period it became quickly evident that
Almshouses could not be a holding grounds for all of the
varying types of people that were currently housed within
them.
● During the 1790s with the help of the Children’s Aid Society
the first orphanage was established.
● In 1851 with the advocating efforts of Dorothea Dix the first
Asylum for the mentally ill were established.

16. Progressive Era Video (1875-1925)

17. Historical People
● Dorothea Dix - mental health advocate.

18. Historical Events
● Mental Hygiene movement- early 20th century.
From 1900-1945
● 3 main ideas
● 1. People were becoming disillusioned with mental
hospitals and the substandard conditions in many.

19. Historical Events
● 2. Alternative types of care were being
developed (such as specialized psychiatric
units in hospitals)

20. Historical Events
● 3. The concept of “mental illness” began to
replace “insanity” and psychotherapy gained
popularity.

21. Historical Events
● Deinstitutionalization- occurred after WW2.
Follow this link to see what inside of mental health
institutions before advocates like Dorthea Dix. This
video is from the 70’s but it takes a look inside one of
the final mental health institutions.
https://youtu.be/lWDt5IE8RPI

22. Historical People
● Jane Addams - (1860-1935) - Founded the Hull
House in Chicago in 1889 and won a nobel peace
prize in 1931

23. Historical Events
● Hull House staff fought for improved conditions
involving workplaces, housing, sanitation, child
labor laws, workplace safety, compulsory
education, women’s rights.

24. Historical People
● Mary Richmond- (1861-1928)
Link to information about Mary Richmond

25. FDR + New Deal Video
Consider what effects the great depression had on the
social welfare state of the United States and the great
changes that came about from FDR’s New Deal.

26. Social Reform Years

27. Extra Video on Social Policy
Great crash course on Social Policy in the United
States.