For centuries dealing with the poor of society was often ruthless and heartless. Giving relief to the poor was a drudgery to those who were wealthy, and the common thought was people were poor because they were lazy and did not want to work. This centuries old problem was now a part of the England in the 1800's.
The Christian church and monasteries had been the prime source of relief for those in poverty. Then taxes were imposed upon church assistance for the poor causing the church limitations to assisting the poor and helpless, making life most miserable for the many.
The Black Plague of the 1400's had diminished much of the population in Europe and common laborers were hard to find. With the Industrial Revolution becoming strong in England in the early 1800's, many were moving to cities like London and the English population was growing in leaps and bounds. Farm life was at an all time low as cheap grain was now being imported after the Napoleonic war. Factories, textile mills, and mining were demanding much labor...at extremely low wages. Cities in England were overloaded with a great influx of people. As a result, living conditions, sanitation, and health were neglected. Cheap "back to back" houses were built with only 2 or 3 rooms for entire families. Restroom facilities were shared by numerous families and as a result sewage was disposed of improperly. Cholera, consumption, and numerous diseases became prevalent. The people of "modern England" were living in medieval times.
By the time Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol in 1843, 25% of the entire population in England lived in severe poverty. 40% of England's entire wealth was owned by 5% of the entire population, known as "The Victorian Era or Society." There was a growing middle class consisting of bankers, merchants, and financiers... yet they only represented 7% of the population. The remaining 63% were working people, living off meager wages, poor housing, or simply refusing to give in to poverty. These working people did not want to enter institutions, made to be harsh to the poor and cause them to work harder.
In Dicken's A Christmas Carol, he writes a chilling passage which directly echoed the Victorian society's view toward the poor. Two charity collectors approached Ebeneezer Scrooge asking for money to donate for the poor explaining the horrors of public institutions that were presently offered to assist those desperate. Scrooge replies to their request by asking: "Are there no prisons? And the union workhouses and treadmills?...Are they still in operation? Oh! From what you said at first I was afraid that something had happened to stop them in their useful course. I am very glad to hear that!"
What were these prisons? What was a union workhouse? What is a treadmill?
Prisons were full of beggars and those who hungered to the point of death. They were mistreated so severely they were often viewed lower than animals.
Union workhouses were not much better. They were designed to be uninviting. One historian classified them as "prisons for the poor." Families were split apart according the various work available, daily work would begin at 4 am and continue until 10 pm. In exchange for work, the poor were given a place to sleep and 2 meals a day. The meals were meager and nutritionally ineffective. Numerous restrictions came with a person entering a workhouse. If you were found disobedient to the rules of the workhouse, you could receive 29 lashes and forced to live in solitary confinement located underground for 3 days. If you were absent from the workhouse for longer than a day, you would receive no food the next day, and if you were more than 10 minutes late for breakfast or dinner you would receive 39 lashes.
Along with these rules, heads were shaved, a cheap uniform given to wear, and you wore no shirt at all while working. Children were contracted out to work in factories and mines, and women (including young girls) were sexually molested in exchange for an extra piece of bread or simply because they were female.
If you were found to be too rebellious, which was simply not having a good or positive attitude as to the benefits offered at a workhouse, a person could be sentenced...to a treadmill.
Treadmills. In 1818 a civil engineer named Sir William Cubitt designed a machine called a "tread-wheel." It was originally designed to reform idle convicts. The treadmill expanded to discipline the poor and force them to work harder and not complain about meager wages.
The treadmill consisted of 24 spokes on a large paddle wheel with a bar to hold on to. The person working the treadmill would climb it like a modern stair master exercise machine. There could be as many as 200 men, women, and children climbing for 8 hour shifts, allowing 40% resting time to avoid total exhaustion. With poor diets, treadmills invited injuries, illness, and mental fatigue. One writer concluded it was the monotonous steadiness rather than the severity of it's work demand that caused terror and mental breakdown. Many died from such gruesome work.
And death...where did all the "dead poor" go? Each week carts loaded with corpses were sold to surgeons for medical learning and advancement.
Surgeries were primitive during this era. There were not any painkillers or equipment like we know today. 1 out of 4 poor died in prisons, workhouses, or treadmills. If a person was injured with a broken arm or leg, it was usually amputated rather than going through the expense of casts and medicines needed for recovery.
Returning to Dicken's novel, Scrooge finished his initial conversation with the charity collectors by saying: " If they would rather die, they better do it, and decrease the surplus population."
As for the Victorian society and those of middle-class, their lives were of much greater leisure. Well known Gothic novels of today were birthed in this time period. Novels like Dracula, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and of course my personal favorite, the stories and poems by Edgar Allan Poe. Many of these stories were read by their authors on stage including those of Charles Dickens.
Freak shows became popular with various people born with deformities People born with no legs or arms, facial disfigurations, along with unusual characteristics like the bearded lady would draw much attraction.
Theater, book readings, and music halls were popular during this time period. Victorian lifestyles included tea parties, dinners with popular games to play like charades, and hunting expeditions.
One aspect for the poor was the opportunity to become house servants to these rich Victorian elite. It gave a poor person, usually female, a place to live and eat more nutritious food. Often they were required to remain quiet unless spoken to, make room for the "Victorians" to pass by as they walked, and be ready to accomodate any needs that may arise. They slept in more comfort whether it be on the floor of kitchens, under stairs, or if lucky, an attic room.
Yet, the real truth was, the greed of Victorian society allowed many of the poor to perish. Many "Victorians" thought it was the poor man's fate, brought upon by lack of desire... to work harder. The Industrial Revolution brought prosperity to the few, while many sacrificed their lives for the comforts and lavish lifestyles of the Victorians. Was it fate?...or simply greed?
Before the novel A Christmas Carol, Christmas had truly died. Christmas was nothing more than the American Mardi Gra. The poor used the Christmas holiday to party, get drunk, have sex, or eat a Porterhouse steak in a local pub. Then, return the next day to the grevious and gruesome work with wages not enough to support themselves, let alone their families. It was totally hopeless.
Until....
3 ghosts appeared in this novel by Dickens. Mr. Scrooge proclaimed after the visit of these 3 ghosts: " I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all 3 shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons they teach!"
Christmas changed...the entire world changed...and within a short period of time, the poor had their prayers heard. Christmas throughout the world was transformed to a world that honored Christmas in their hearts with children being rescued!
Christmas was alive...once again!
" Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do!"
Galatians 2:10
The Black Plague of the 1400's had diminished much of the population in Europe and common laborers were hard to find. With the Industrial Revolution becoming strong in England in the early 1800's, many were moving to cities like London and the English population was growing in leaps and bounds. Farm life was at an all time low as cheap grain was now being imported after the Napoleonic war. Factories, textile mills, and mining were demanding much labor...at extremely low wages. Cities in England were overloaded with a great influx of people. As a result, living conditions, sanitation, and health were neglected. Cheap "back to back" houses were built with only 2 or 3 rooms for entire families. Restroom facilities were shared by numerous families and as a result sewage was disposed of improperly. Cholera, consumption, and numerous diseases became prevalent. The people of "modern England" were living in medieval times.
By the time Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol in 1843, 25% of the entire population in England lived in severe poverty. 40% of England's entire wealth was owned by 5% of the entire population, known as "The Victorian Era or Society." There was a growing middle class consisting of bankers, merchants, and financiers... yet they only represented 7% of the population. The remaining 63% were working people, living off meager wages, poor housing, or simply refusing to give in to poverty. These working people did not want to enter institutions, made to be harsh to the poor and cause them to work harder.
In Dicken's A Christmas Carol, he writes a chilling passage which directly echoed the Victorian society's view toward the poor. Two charity collectors approached Ebeneezer Scrooge asking for money to donate for the poor explaining the horrors of public institutions that were presently offered to assist those desperate. Scrooge replies to their request by asking: "Are there no prisons? And the union workhouses and treadmills?...Are they still in operation? Oh! From what you said at first I was afraid that something had happened to stop them in their useful course. I am very glad to hear that!"
What were these prisons? What was a union workhouse? What is a treadmill?
Prisons were full of beggars and those who hungered to the point of death. They were mistreated so severely they were often viewed lower than animals.
Union workhouses were not much better. They were designed to be uninviting. One historian classified them as "prisons for the poor." Families were split apart according the various work available, daily work would begin at 4 am and continue until 10 pm. In exchange for work, the poor were given a place to sleep and 2 meals a day. The meals were meager and nutritionally ineffective. Numerous restrictions came with a person entering a workhouse. If you were found disobedient to the rules of the workhouse, you could receive 29 lashes and forced to live in solitary confinement located underground for 3 days. If you were absent from the workhouse for longer than a day, you would receive no food the next day, and if you were more than 10 minutes late for breakfast or dinner you would receive 39 lashes.
If you were found to be too rebellious, which was simply not having a good or positive attitude as to the benefits offered at a workhouse, a person could be sentenced...to a treadmill.
Treadmills. In 1818 a civil engineer named Sir William Cubitt designed a machine called a "tread-wheel." It was originally designed to reform idle convicts. The treadmill expanded to discipline the poor and force them to work harder and not complain about meager wages.
The treadmill consisted of 24 spokes on a large paddle wheel with a bar to hold on to. The person working the treadmill would climb it like a modern stair master exercise machine. There could be as many as 200 men, women, and children climbing for 8 hour shifts, allowing 40% resting time to avoid total exhaustion. With poor diets, treadmills invited injuries, illness, and mental fatigue. One writer concluded it was the monotonous steadiness rather than the severity of it's work demand that caused terror and mental breakdown. Many died from such gruesome work.
And death...where did all the "dead poor" go? Each week carts loaded with corpses were sold to surgeons for medical learning and advancement.
Surgeries were primitive during this era. There were not any painkillers or equipment like we know today. 1 out of 4 poor died in prisons, workhouses, or treadmills. If a person was injured with a broken arm or leg, it was usually amputated rather than going through the expense of casts and medicines needed for recovery.
Returning to Dicken's novel, Scrooge finished his initial conversation with the charity collectors by saying: " If they would rather die, they better do it, and decrease the surplus population."
As for the Victorian society and those of middle-class, their lives were of much greater leisure. Well known Gothic novels of today were birthed in this time period. Novels like Dracula, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and of course my personal favorite, the stories and poems by Edgar Allan Poe. Many of these stories were read by their authors on stage including those of Charles Dickens.
Freak shows became popular with various people born with deformities People born with no legs or arms, facial disfigurations, along with unusual characteristics like the bearded lady would draw much attraction.
Theater, book readings, and music halls were popular during this time period. Victorian lifestyles included tea parties, dinners with popular games to play like charades, and hunting expeditions.
One aspect for the poor was the opportunity to become house servants to these rich Victorian elite. It gave a poor person, usually female, a place to live and eat more nutritious food. Often they were required to remain quiet unless spoken to, make room for the "Victorians" to pass by as they walked, and be ready to accomodate any needs that may arise. They slept in more comfort whether it be on the floor of kitchens, under stairs, or if lucky, an attic room.
Yet, the real truth was, the greed of Victorian society allowed many of the poor to perish. Many "Victorians" thought it was the poor man's fate, brought upon by lack of desire... to work harder. The Industrial Revolution brought prosperity to the few, while many sacrificed their lives for the comforts and lavish lifestyles of the Victorians. Was it fate?...or simply greed?
Before the novel A Christmas Carol, Christmas had truly died. Christmas was nothing more than the American Mardi Gra. The poor used the Christmas holiday to party, get drunk, have sex, or eat a Porterhouse steak in a local pub. Then, return the next day to the grevious and gruesome work with wages not enough to support themselves, let alone their families. It was totally hopeless.
Until....
3 ghosts appeared in this novel by Dickens. Mr. Scrooge proclaimed after the visit of these 3 ghosts: " I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all 3 shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons they teach!"
Christmas changed...the entire world changed...and within a short period of time, the poor had their prayers heard. Christmas throughout the world was transformed to a world that honored Christmas in their hearts with children being rescued!
Christmas was alive...once again!
" Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do!"
Galatians 2:10
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