Conclusion

Summary

The introduction of the New Poor Law and the workhouse system in the 1830s allowed the British government to argue that it had solved the problem of poverty by inducing the able-bodied to work and by providing for the basic maintenance of those that did not. At the same time, Britain introduced the civil registration of births and deaths. This made it possible for the state to track mortality rates and causes. The confluence of these policies led to debates over the extent to which deaths due to starvation and exposure could and should be registered because to do so was an embarrassment to the state. It implied either that relief had been withheld from the destitute or that some had chosen to starve to death rather than to partake of government services.