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Elizabethan Poor Laws

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Elizabethan Poor Laws
Life for the poor in Elizabethan England was very harsh. Unemployment and rapid price inflation increased causing many villagers to leave their homes and come to the towns to look for work. However, they often could not find employment and ended up begging in the streets. Elizabethan Poor Laws, enacted in 1601, were incredibly beneficial in uniting the community to provide care and nurture for the qualifying less fortunate. These laws set a critical foundation for Britain’s welfare system and established guidelines for the “deserving” and “undeserving” poor. I chose this topic because it vastly influenced our world today, not only physically, but morally.
My extensive research was conducted mainly through internet resources. Thanks to online databases provided by the Public Library System I was able to find valuable primary sources such as newspaper articles. I was also able to find credible, scholarly summaries, documents, essays, and more on my topic, making it much more manageable to thoroughly educate myself and others. Gathering so much background knowledge also provided more validity to statements I concluded and overall information included in my presentation. I personally felt an exhibit would be the most tremendous in portraying the vast research I completed throughout the History Fair process through vibrant illustrations, documents, photos and more.
The 1601 Elizabethan Poor Laws suitably fits the Rights and Responsibilities theme. Everyone had a share - rights and responsibilities, from the Justices of the Peace, to the substantial householders, even the poor themselves.
The poor weren't just goldenly treated out of the blue. Only the “deserving” poor were assisted. “Deserving” – classified as the “Helpless poor” also known as old folk, or children of poor families and the “able-bodied poor”- people who could work, wanted to work, and attempted at earning a living. It was the responsibilities of the poor to remain determined and avoid indolence,
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