Charles Booth Booth was a wealthy man. He did not believe that the poor were poor due to bad financial sense. He studied people in London and came to a theory about society.

Booth’s Method Booth put all people into one of 8 groups, from criminals (A) to upper middle class (H.) Your group depended on your income. People from group A, B, C and D managed on £1 a week or less. They often failed, to make ends meet. Booth thought that this was about 30% of the UK, because it seemed to be about 30% of London.

Booth’s Theories If you earned less than a certain amount, you could never save money or pay for anything. It was between 10s and 20s a week. Groups A and B needed charity or prison to “help” them Groups C and D needed government help.

Problems Some people didn’t believe Booth, because... – He hadn’t looked at income, just lifestyle – The amount of people in poverty (30%) was far too high – He was unscientific – He jumped to conclusions – He had only looked at one city

Seebohm Rowntree 1879 – 1954 Owner of Rowntree’s Sweets in York Concerned about high levels of poverty Carried out the first large- scale, scientific study of poverty over 2 years In 1901 published “Poverty: A Study of Town Life”

Poverty: A Study of Town Life Rowntree’s volunteers interviewed about 70% of the people in York, and virtually all the workers They got actual amounts that people spent on rent, food, and so on For the first time, figures existed on both the INCOME of the poor, and the EXPENDITURE of them

The “Poverty Line” The most important part of the findings! Rowntree said that there was a level of income below which you could not be “physically efficient”. He said that if you earned under 21s 8d, you could not afford to stay “physical efficient”, even if you never wasted any money

30s 25s 20s 15s 10s 5s Income per week The Poverty Line (21s 8d) Rowntree worked out that 27% of York’s population lived below or very close to the Poverty Line

30s 25s 20s 15s 10s 5s Income per week The Poverty Line (21s 8d) If your income was less than 21s 8d, then no matter what you did you would never have enough money. This was called......and was about 10% of the population of York

30s 25s 20s 15s 10s 5s Income per week The Poverty Line (21s 8d) Sometimes, families would have over 21s 8d but still not have enough money. In these cases, they were spending money on non- essential things that might be useful (education) or wasteful (tobacco or alcohol.) In either case, you were in......along with about 17% of the population of York

30s 25s 20s 15s 10s 5s Income per week Age of worker The Poverty Line (21s 8d) Rowntree also said that as someone went through life, where they were in relation to the poverty line changed. The young child needs food but brings in no money The adult has children of his own, who don’t work but need food The adult’s children leave home and he becomes too old to work The teenager begins to work and bring in extra money to the family The children of the adult begin to work and bring in extra money

Rowntree’s Conclusions He proved that poverty was sometimes caused by old age, illness or unemployment, not laziness or being careless with money EVERYONE got old or ill (sometimes); unemployment was caused by trade slumps, which were nothing to do with the poor. This showed that if people were poor, it was NOT THEIR FAULT! Rowntree then said that if the poor were not ABLE to help themselves, then the government should help them instead.

Booth and Rowntree together Booth hadn’t really been believed. Rowntree made it believable. Booth had worked in London, Rowntree in York, and they were VERY similar in their findings (30% v. 27%) Taken together, they proved three things: – About 30% of the UK was in poverty – There was a “poverty line” of about £1 per week – It was not the fault of many of the poor that they were poor.