From Poor Law to Welfare State

1. Ancient & Religious Roots: Charity as Duty and Right

Throughout the Old Testament, the ancient Hebrew collection of historical books, laws, proverbs, psalms, and prophetic writings that go as far back in time as the late eleventh century B.C., one finds commandments to give to others (tzedakah), especially the sick, the old, the handicapped, and the poor, not as a matter of charity but out of a sense of justice (or tzedek).

Early foundations. Concern for the needy is not new, dating back to ancient civilizations like Babylonia, Greece, and Rome, which practiced hospitality and provided some forms of relief like pensions or public grain distribution. However, the most significant influence on Western social welfare comes from ancient Jewish doctrines. These teachings emphasized giving (tzedakah) as a matter of justice (tzedek), not just charity, establishing a right for the needy to receive and a duty for the capable to give.

Christian continuation. Christianity inherited and expanded upon this tradition, stressing mercy, love, and good deeds rooted in Old Testament teachings. Early Christian texts, like the description of the Day of Judgment in St. Matthew, reinforced the idea that helping the poor was serving God. Medieval church law (Decretum) further codified this, viewing need as a result of misfortune for which society had a responsibility, not a crime.

Beyond benevolence. This early perspective saw aid not merely as an act of kindness but as a societal obligation. The needy had a right to assistance, and the better off had a duty to provide it. This fundamental concept of a right to receive, based on justice or divine command, formed a crucial philosophical basis for later welfare systems, contrasting sharply with later views that blamed the individual for their poverty.

2. Medieval Care: Church, Guilds, and Feudal Security

By the “high” Middle Ages, then, a highly developed and effective system of poor relief had been established.

Church as provider. In the Middle Ages, the Church was the primary institution for poor relief. Monasteries served as basic relief agencies, distributing food and provisions from their income. Bishops and parish priests were directly responsible for aiding the poor within their districts, using a fixed portion of the church tithe.

Feudal and guild support. Feudalism provided a form of social insurance for serfs, protecting them against hazards like sickness or old age in exchange for labor and constraint on freedom. In emerging cities, social, craft, and merchant guilds offered benefits to their members and sometimes provided intermittent aid to the town poor, such as distributing food or offering free lodging.

Hospitals' broad role. Medieval hospitals (hospitales) were not just for the sick but served as comprehensive care centers. They housed and cared for a wide range of unfortunates, including lepers, travelers, orphans, the aged, and the destitute. These institutions, initially attached to monasteries, later came under municipal authority, linking ecclesiastical and secular charity.

3. English Poor Law: State Responsibility Emerges from Disorder

the Elizabethan Poor Law brought together, in a single coherent statute, the “inconsistent and erratic relief legislation of the previous” years, firmly placing its operation in the hands of civil authorities and establishing a definite system of obligatory financing outside of the church.

Breakdown of old order. Social and economic upheavals in England (dissolution of feudalism, growth of commerce, enclosure movement, Black Death, dissolution of monasteries) led to massive unemployment, poverty, and vagrancy. The traditional systems of church and feudal aid were overwhelmed, creating widespread disorder and fear.

State intervention begins. Faced with social unrest and labor shortages, the state began intervening. Early laws like the Statute of Laborers (1349) were primarily repressive, aiming to control labor and punish vagrancy severely (whipping, branding). However, they also started distinguishing between the able-bodied and the impotent poor.

Toward organized relief. Acts in 1531 and 1536 mandated local officials to search for and care for the impotent poor, initially through voluntary contributions. The 1572 act introduced compulsory taxation for poor relief and created the secular official, the overseer of the poor. These steps culminated in the landmark Poor Law of 1601.

4. Colonial Adaptation: Localism, Control, and Discrimination

As one would expect, the colonists turned to the manners and customs, the social and legal institutions that were part of their cultural baggage, to meet the need—the English Poor Law of 1601.

Transplanting the system. Lacking established private charities or church welfare institutions, colonists adopted the English Poor Law. Frontier conditions and close-knit settlements fostered a sense of community obligation and local responsibility, aligning well with the English model. Poverty existed despite opportunities, requiring formal relief.

Local administration & methods. Poor law administration fell to the smallest government unit: towns in New England and parishes (later counties) in the South. Methods included boarding out the poor in private homes, providing outdoor relief, or even auctioning off dependents to the lowest bidder. Tax abatement and free medical care were also provided.

Controlling outsiders. Fearful of strangers becoming public burdens, communities implemented strict residency requirements ("warning away") and required bonds from newcomers or ship captains. Discrimination was also inherent: Native Americans and Black people (enslaved or free) were largely excluded from the formal welfare system, forced to rely on self-help or masters.

5. 18th Century Strain: Rising Poverty, Private Aid, and New Ideas

on the eve of the war 'poverty . . . blighted the lives of a large part of the population.'

Growing urban distress. As colonial cities grew, poverty increased significantly due to immigration, wars (creating widows, orphans, disabled soldiers), seasonal jobs, economic depressions, fires, and epidemics. Poor relief expenditures became a major burden on municipal budgets.

Rise of private charity. Public resources were insufficient, leading to a significant increase in private aid. Wealthy individuals, churches (like Quakers), nationality groups, and benevolent societies provided assistance, sometimes supplementing public efforts, sometimes aiding those not covered by poor laws. This era saw philanthropy become a partnership between public and private sectors.

New intellectual currents. Humanitarian impulses were fueled by the Great Awakening (popularizing philanthropy across classes) and the Enlightenment (challenging the inevitability of misery, emphasizing reason and human perfectibility). The American Revolution further intensified these ideas, suggesting a new republic should address social ills like poverty and illiteracy for the sake of its citizens and democratic rule.

6. 19th Century Shift: From Misfortune to Moral Failing

'By a just and inflexible law of Providence,' the report stated, 'misery is ordained to be the companion and the punishment of vice.'

Changing perceptions. The early 19th century saw a fundamental shift in how poverty was viewed. Instead of being seen as inevitable misfortune, it was increasingly attributed to individual moral failure (laziness, intemperance, immorality). This was fueled by rising immigration, urbanization, and the belief that America, a land of opportunity, offered success to anyone willing to work hard.

Influence of laissez-faire. Classical economics and the emerging laissez-faire philosophy argued that poverty was the natural state of the working class and that public aid interfered with the free market and individual initiative. Social Darwinism later reinforced this, viewing poverty as a sign of the "unfit" and arguing against intervention that would impede natural selection.

Critique of public aid. Public outdoor relief was particularly criticized as demoralizing, encouraging idleness, and fostering a sense of entitlement. It was seen as undermining the incentive to work and drying up private charity. This led to calls for its abolition and a preference for institutional care or private benevolence.

7. The Turn Inward: Rise of Institutions and Limited Federal Role

To an extraordinary degree [indoor relief] dominate[d] the public response to poverty.

Institutions as solution. Influenced by reports like New York's Yates Report (1824), which highlighted the chaos and cruelty of existing relief methods, reformers advocated for institutions (almshouses, workhouses) as a more efficient and moral way to handle the poor. These institutions aimed to control behavior, instill work habits, and provide care, though conditions often deteriorated.

Segregation and specialization. As problems within general almshouses became apparent (mixing of different groups), states began creating separate institutions for specific populations like juvenile delinquents, the mentally ill, and the disabled. This marked a trend towards classification and specialized institutional care.

Federal limits established. Despite calls for national action (like Dorothea Dix's crusade for federal land grants for mental hospitals), President Pierce's veto (1854) established a precedent against significant federal involvement in social welfare, arguing it was unconstitutional for the government to be the "great almoner." This limited the national role for decades, leaving most responsibility to states and localities.

8. Civil War Catalyst: Public Health and Women's Role

History afforded no other example of so great a work of usefulness extemporized by the spontaneous self-devotion and organizing genius of a people altogether independent of the government.

Wartime needs. The Civil War created immense relief problems for soldiers and their families, prompting increased public aid from localities and states. It also highlighted severe sanitary and medical deficiencies in army camps and hospitals.

Sanitary Commission's impact. The privately funded U.S. Sanitary Commission, largely run by women, organized voluntary efforts to supplement government medical care, improve hygiene, and distribute supplies. Its success demonstrated the power of organized voluntary action and laid groundwork for the post-war public health movement, stimulating the creation of state and municipal health boards.

Women's expanded role. Women's extensive participation in wartime relief efforts, recognized and praised by figures like President Lincoln, gave them new skills, self-image, and expectations. This experience launched many women into lifelong careers in social service and reform, increasing their voice in public affairs after the war.

9. Post-War Challenges: Industrialization, Discrimination, and Scientific Charity

The unintelligent, untrained charity worker can, in spite of disinterested zeal, often cause . . . havoc [with the needy].

Industrial era problems. Rapid industrialization after the Civil War brought immense wealth but also periodic depressions, unemployment, low wages, and dangerous working conditions. These factors, combined with continued immigration and urbanization, exacerbated poverty and social disorder.

Discrimination persists. Despite the end of slavery, Black Americans faced severe discrimination and exclusion from the formal welfare system, particularly in the South. They were forced to rely on self-help efforts like benevolent societies, which, while vital, had limited resources.

Rise of Scientific Charity. Reacting to the perceived chaos and inefficiency of existing relief and the belief that poverty stemmed from individual moral defects (often reinforced by Social Darwinism), the Charity Organization Movement emerged. Emphasizing investigation, coordination, and "friendly visiting" (moral uplift over material aid), it sought to make charity "scientific" and professional, though often criticized for its judgmental and controlling approach.

Last updated: May 9, 2025