Public Health and Poverty

• Why did the birth rate rise in the 19th century? 1) Fewer people were dying when young. 2) More babies were living to adulthood and they would have children.
• Why did the marriage rate rise in the 19th century? 1) In rural areas, farmers employed fewer live-in servants. Therefore it was easier for men and women to begin a life together on their own and so they got married earlier. 2) Earlier marriages, meant more babies.
• Why did the death rate fall? 1) Vaccine against smallpox. 2) More food of better quality. 3) Soap that was cheap was available. 4) Cotton cloth was cheap to buy and easy to wash and keep clean.
• What were some problems with housing? They lacked drainage, sewerage and regular water supply. Lavatories were usually outside and emptied into cess-pits. These were cleared by 'night-soil' men. Some houses had ash privies, where the users covered the contents with ash.
• What were some problems with water? Water was in short supply and was expensive. Water companies usually took their water from local rivers. The poorer areas of towns and cities had to use standpipes and some people queued with buckets to buy what they could afford. Those who couldn't afford to buy water, either didn't bother or took water from local rivers.
• What were the problems with the way houses were built? Living space was so small that it resulted in overcrowding. Cellars and attics were filled with people, and were used as workplaces. They were built in rows of industrial cottages and some were built back-to-back. Many were poorly built with floors being nothing more than bare boards.
• What were some problems with public transport? The absence of affordable public transport meant that industrial workers had to be housed close to the mills and factories in which they worked.
• Why was life expectancy low for the working class in the first half of the 19th century? 1) People lived in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions, without easy access to clean water. 2) Diseases like scarlet fever and influenza killed many people.
• What was the Miasma Theory? This was the belief that disease was caused by bad air. It was believed that there were particles in the air that were decaying, but couldn't be seen. It was characterised by its foul smell.
• What was the Germ Theory? The development of microscopes by Lister enables scientists to observe micro-organisms in rotting material. They had two ideas: One was that decaying material created the micro-organisms and the other one was that micro-organisms in the air were attracted to decaying matter.
• Which theory was correct? (Miasma Theory or Germ Theory). In 1860 Pasteur conducted a series of experiments proving that micro-organisms existed in the air and weren't created by decaying matter. Germs could and did cause disease in humans. Not everyone believed him. It was left to Koch to prove this in the 1880s and 1890s by identifying the germs that caused most of the worst diseases of the 19th century.
• When was the Cholera epidemic? 1832
• How many riots were recorded in towns and cities across Britain, including Liverpool and Glasgow? 30
• What were the Liverpool rioters rioting against? They were rioting against the local medicine men. It was believed that cholera victims were being taken to local hospitals where they died by murder by the doctors to use their bodies for dissection.
• What happened in 1828? A local surgeon, William Gill, was tried and found guilty of running a grave robbing system in order to provide bodies for dissection.
• Why did the riots end abruptly? Due to pleas from the local Catholic clergy.
• How did the Government react to the cholera outbreak? A temporary board of health was set up which advised local Government to set up their own boards of health consisting of magistrates, clergymen, householders and medical men. They were to appoint inspectors to report on food, clothing and bedding of the poor, ventilation of dwellings, the number of people per room, how they kept clean and their behaviour.
• What did the board advise? 1) Houses were whitewashed and fumigated. 2) People with cholera were put in to quarantine. 3) Food and clothing was distributed to the poor. 4) Set up temporary fever hospitals. 5) Remedies were also suggested like using castor oil as a rub.
• What was believed to be a cure for cholera? 1) The contagious theory - Streets or even cities were put into quarantine, which caused loss of trade and increased poverty. 2) The miasma theory - Heaps of excrement were removed from the streets. 3) The Lancet (written by doctors) - Claimed that a Jewish community had kept themselves cholera free by using an ointment. 4) Patent medicines grew in number. 5) Prayer was recommended by the Christian Church.
• What report was created in 1832 and by who? The moral and physical condition of the working classes of Manchester. By Dr James Kay - Secretary to the board of health in Manchester.
• What did the 1832 report say? Dr James Kay personally visited areas to investigate conditions which formed the basis of his report. Through his report he demonstrated the connection between dirt and disease and the health of the working people. He also claimed that dirty living led to dirty habits which proved to be powerful force for would-be reformers.
• What report was created in 1842 and by who? Report on the Sanitary Condition of the Labouring Population of Great Britain. By Edwin Chadwick.
• Explain the 1842 report. The report focused on London and was requested by the Poor Law Commissioners. It was then extended to cover the whole country. The report contained two volumes based on questionnaires completed by local boards of guards and a third volume containing his own conclusions.
• Why did the Poor Law Commission refuse to publish the 1842 report? It was too critical of water companies, medical professionals and local administrators whose vested interest stood in the way of improvements. However, in July 1842 Chadwick published the report under his own name.
• What did the 1842 report lead to? A Royal Commission on the Health of Towns was set up to investigate the legislative and financial side of his criticisms and recommendations.
• What report was created in 1844? Report of the Royal Commission into the Sanitary Condition of Large Towns and Populous Districts.
• What did the 1844 report find? Out of 50 towns investigated, 42 had bad drainage and 30 had poor water supplies.
• What did the report in 1845 recommend? 1) Central Government should be given the power to inspect and supervise sanitary work. 2) Local sanitary districts should be set up, with authority over drainage, sewerage, paving and water supplies. 3) Local Sanitary districts should be given powers to raise money for sanitary schemes.
• What was invented in 1775? S-Trap by Cummings. This sealed the toilet bowel, preventing foul air coming up from the sewer. Bramah then combined this invention with a float valve system for a cistern to build the first practical flushing toilet.
• What was invented in 1856? Jennings established a business manufacturing toilet which were popular amongst the middle-classes. He improved the design whereby the pan and the water trap were constructed from one piece so that a small amount of water was retained in the pan.
• What had happened by the 1850s? Building codes required all new-build homes to have a water closet.
• What was invented in 1875? Twyford developed and sold the first 'wash out' trap water closet. The toilet refilled with a small quantity of clean water.
• In terms of sewage, what happened in 1842? Roe created a system of flushing gates to control the flow of liquids through the sewers, whereby cast iron gates were fixed in the sewers and only opened when there was sufficient accumulation of water-borne sewage behind them to enable the force of water to clear off any deposits.
• What was added to Roe's work in the 1870s? Hydraulic pumps to ensure constant flow of water through sewers to make them self-flushing.
• What did scientists develop in 1912 to help with the sewage system? The sewerage treatment system activated sludge, whereby the sewage was biologically treated to make it safe.
• What did the Lambeth Water Works do in 1802? It replaced its wooden pipes with cast iron ones.
• What did the Southwark Water Company do in 1822? It extracted water from the Thames using a pump powered by steam to be piped to customers.
• What did the Chelsea Waterworks Company install in 1829? It installed a sand filtration system to purify water.
• What did the Grand Junction Waterworks Company build in 1838? They built a pumping station which pumped water into reservoirs and then water towers that used gravity feed to supply the area.
• Why did attitudes to public health reforms change? (Writers and Journalists). Novels written by individuals such as Charles Dickens created a vivid picture of the poor working-class living conditions. Dickens focused on London, where he had a first-hand experience of poverty. His books reached a wide readership as they were published in instalments, meaning they were left on cliff-hangers.