Those poorer elements in society found the terms even more difficult to contemplate than before. No attempt was made by the commissioners to tackle the causes of the poor economic situation as it was assumed by them that the system would deter rather than encourage those to fall back on state relief.

The abolition of outdoor relief caused much hardship and distress throughout the country, especially in those industrial areas affected greatly by unemployment. Had it not been for a series of productive harvests and the beginning of

For those able bodied, who simply could not find work, life was hugely unfair having to go into the workhouse. Husbands and wives, parents and children were split up, obviously causing terrible emotional effects. Once someone was in the workhouse, there was little way of ever getting out. They had nothing to look forward to in life. The principle of ‘less eligibility’ also proved difficult to force as working conditions were as bad. The conditions were far better than those of slums, but the strict diet and regulations set up for the inmates was hard to bear, this is described in an extract of Charles Dickens Oliver Twist,

There is also no denying that the Chartist movement drew heavily for its support from those disaffected by the amendment. Such anger was caused from the tough, and completely unfair law. The Government had promised to ease the poor situation, but the poor obviously felt that they were worsening their lives. Many working people saw the imposition as a ‘starvation law’. They believed the only way to improve their living conditions was through a parliament that fully represented working people. Political groups renewed their campaigns, and they became embodied in the Chartist movement, with male suffrage among its demands. There was a great deal of anti-Poor Law agitation, especially in the North of England. J Holden described the considerable opposition to the law,

There is also limitations as to how far the Poor Law was actually successful. To begin with the first unions were set up in the so

Some topics in this essay:
, Poor Law, Game Laws, Commission Chadwick, Railway Age, England Holden, Napoleonic War, Oliver Twist, Elie Halevy, poor law, Mark Blaug, workhouse system, chartist movement, outdoor relief, view poor law, living conditions, able bodied, view poor, south england, napoleonic war, help themselves,