Please answer this question with a short sentence: What can we deduce about the way in which society viewed the poor? (there is information below to help you :D ) “Prisons”
Prisons were used for many reasons, but one of the most common reasons that they were used were for debtors.
Debtors’ prisons existed for those who could not pay for the goods and services they had obtained from businesses or creditors.
It was vey difficult for prisoners to be released, they had to buy their way out, many couldn’t do this!
They were small and overcrowded and had shocking conditions for inmates.
“Union Workhouses”
Workhouses were institutions created to house and employ the poor who could not house themselves or find paid work.
Under the Poor Laws, each local area had to provide this for the poor.
The work was often hard and repetitive, such as breaking rocks or grinding stones.
Men, Women and Children would be housed separately, so entering the workhouse could create a complete breakdown of a family. It was resisted by many.
“The Treadmill”
In the early Victorian period, a prison treadmill was a device used to extract labour from prisoners as a part of their sentence.
The treadmill had interior steps set into two cast iron wheels. These drove a shaft that could be used to mill corn, pump water or connect to a large fan for resistance.