Discuss With Reference To Edwin Chadwick History Essay

Discuss With Reference To Edwin Chadwick History EssayDependent upon which historical topic of study unrivaled has worked inwardly, the image of Edwin Chadwick has, in past historiography, been somewhat polarized. Within the context of the 1834 poor Law Amendment Act, we are given an insight into the evil Edwin, the villain of worth little-relief. His part in the creation of a deterrent schema that contracted upon indoor relief within the dreaded workhouse as its focus, made him unpopular contemporaneously, and historically. However, on the flipside of this coin, as one might expect, is an image of a man of morality. This Chadwick, unlike his earlier guise, has been heralded by historians as one the great figures and proponents of normal health. His healthy Report (1842) was and is, seen as the pioneering piece of repossessist literature that ignited the flame of overt health in England.2Here I have sh own the deuce sides of Edwin Chadwick. These two frontingly separate entities have been analysed by historians.3Yet, it seems that until recently, Chadwick within the public health context has avoided the scrutiny that the earlier brusque fairness associated Chadwick has suffered. This heap be attri tho ifed to a great degree to the early historiographical appreciation (or rather a lack thereof) of the impudent unfortunate law. This image of the cruelty and amorality of the Amendment Act and the negative appraisal of the short law post-1834 began with Beatrice and Sidney Webb. Their famous, and numerous, volumes on English local government have largely been discredited by current historians as somewhat ahistorical. It is some quantify far likewise easy to place upon a contemporaneous historical context modern attitudes and reportls. Early historical attitudes surrounding the new poor law suffered from this contemporary grafting.In the same vein, the historiography of public health in relation to Chadwick earth-closet be viewed as teleolog ical. If not teleological, then it for sure suffered from a lack of questioning of Chadwicks public health ideals, especially those expounded in his salubrious Report. The limitations of this historiography are be remedied by a current crop of historians, including Christopher Hamlin, Mary Poovey, and middling earlier by Anthony Brundage.4The cladding of the Sanitary Report is being wiped away to expose the complexity of Chadwicks intentions hidden within the grain. Historians such as Hamlin have emphasised the semi semipolitical nature of Chadwicks Report. This new appraisal of the Chadwick of public health has narrowed the gap between the Chadwick of the poor law. There is nevertheless one Chadwick. This essay will hopefully disprove this duality of Chadwick, and emphasise the similarities between Chadwicks attitudes within a poor law context and those within the Sanitary Report. There are politically charged threads that intimacy his work within the Royal boot for the p oor law, between 1832 and 1834, to that of his 1842 Sanitary Report.Both the poor law and sanitation were components of Chadwicks wider domesticise-minded muckle not only for England, but for ample Britain.5Chadwicks national picture of sociable organisation and emolument through centralized governing bodies, self-supervision, surveillance and discipline was based upon the assemblage of a mass of evidence and information. Centralisation, discipline, and statistics are the key threads to understanding Chadwick the politician, if he was such at all. Integral to an understanding of Chadwicks political persuasion is the influence of Jeremy Bentham and his useful principles.6This is a thread that shall run through and alongside the other threads it is certainly a significant aspect of the politics of Chadwick. Some historians suggest that Chadwick was a product of Benthamite principles.7Therefore, a study of Chadwick with come on the inclusion of Jeremy Bentham would be a consider ably diminished understanding of Chadwicks politics. The themes of Utilitarianism run throughout the work of Chadwick. His ideas on the makeup of the English or veritable(a) British state are based largely upon the teachings of Bentham.8The Poor Law billing within Chadwicks conception of administrative bodies was along actually similar lines to that of Benthams Indigence Relief Minister. Further a great deal, the later General Board of wellness for which Chadwick can be attributed, was similar in m both ways to the Minister of Health posited by Bentham. It is certainly clear that Benthams principles had a significant impact on Chadwicks ideas of central organization and administration.9Historians such as John Roach and Anthony Brundage have attributed this formative of Chadwicks mind to Benthams Constitutional Code. This period of Chadwicks life, when living with Bentham, and helping him draft the Constitutional Code, is posited as one of the close significant and influential periods in moulding his political, mixer and structural outlook. Yet, as Helen Benyon has suggested, after Benthams death, his pupil can be seen to depart somewhat from his code.10This divergence can be seen throughout Chadwicks career. For example, Bentham considered a royal billing to be an instrument of monarchical tyranny.11Yet as is well documented, Chadwick was heavily compound in such bangs, including his part in the Royal Commission on the poor law, for which he played a significant role. He crimson headed the Royal Commission on factories, and played an encouraging role in the commission that resulted in the passing of the Public Health Act in 1848. This divergence is not necessarily negative. In many respects, a royal commission was a fashionable tool of the Victorian period which engendered reform. Therefore, we can see Chadwick as merely using the political avenues that existed to promulgate his own reformist ideals. In addition, practically of what Chadwick create d out of these commissions, in administrative and organizational terms was relatively utilitarian. This theme of centralisation and will be detailed in the proceeding section.One viscid point can be seen in Chadwicks opposition to universal political enfranchisement, something which Bentham certainly advocated towards the viability of democracy. This shift from Benthamism is certainly significant for later analysis of Chadwicks conception of social organisation within his Sanitary Report. This should not detract from the far-reaching effect that Benthams political theory had upon the later work of Chadwick. He was not a complete product of Bentham, his own past and ideological makeup mixed and fused with the latent Benthamite principles, the more or less significant of which can be seen in Chadwicks wholly national picture of reform and improvement towards intervention, and inspection through centralisation.Following this train of thought, we move into a key area of Chadwicks ide ology. Centralisation was a significant aspect of the Chadwick model of organisation. It has its origins in Benthamism of a considerably national and uniform system of institutional organisation.12An important factor in this is the Whig government from the 1832 Parliamentary Reform Act throughout the 1830s. As Brundage has suggested this Whig government presided over the most extraordinary periods of government growth in British history.13Reforms in areas such as the factories, the poor laws, education and police, all involved the growth of central government. There is a definite Benthamite flavour to this reformism. And this influence could be seen not only in the figure of Chadwick, but in objurgate positions of power. Yet Chadwick is, for the purposes of this essay the most significant individual. His centralising vision is certainly along utilitarian lines. This was Bourne out of an abstract and conceptual definition of paternalism which could be grafted onto his model of centr alised government. However, the Whig governments idea of paternalism was along the more traditional lines of maintenance of the dominance of local government. The Whigs were open to government growth, yet only to uphold and confirm this traditional paternal hierarchy.14In this respect one can see Chadwicks visions of central organisation as perhaps being moulded by his contemporaneous reality. England was more an agglomeration of counties, parishes, and common law courts than a state.15For his centralised vision to be accepted, he would have to make concessions. The structure of organisation and administration for which he provided for the poor law is a flowering example of such a concession. He created the central body of the Poor Law Commission, the inspectorial and supervisorial enforcer of uniform relief, whilst keeping the local organs. However, these local unions presided over much larger geographical districts than under the old poor law, amalgamating several parishes toget her. Along with this example under the poor law, the earlier Factory Act, or Althorps Act passed in 1833 is probably a more significant indicator of the central interference of Chadwick. It was the first piece of legislation in Britain based on a major inquiry by experts entailing inference by the central government, supervised by agents of central government.16This centralised and uniform state driven ideology can even be identified within Chadwicks Sanitary Report. His vision of a national network of pipes, pumping fresh water into the homes and flushing out waste gives a very vivid image of state uniformity.17Furthermore, for the enactment of such a large scale task, he emphasises the need for a centrally organised system of expertise and authority. In 1848 the General Board of Health was set up. One can identify within Chadwicks work an overarching reformist vision. Within both the poor law (for which Chadwick has been negatively appraised) and the creation of public health (for which he is the patron saint) one can identify a continuity of his administrative vision of centralised institutions based upon authority, supervision and uniformity. In this respect, the gap between the Chadwick of the poor law and the Chadwick of public health converge to create Chadwick the reformist a man with a national vision of improvement and Benthamite tendencies.Here a brief example of the sizeableness of Benthams influence upon Chadwicks ideology might shed some light on Chadwicks policies. Anthony Brundage suggests that Benthams Panopticon plan is a physical representation of the concept of the tutelary State which Chadwick championed during the 1830s and 1840s. It resembled the Panopticon in its thoroughness, tidiness, and also its intrusiveness.18This design was intended for use in prisons or even workhouses, as an optimized system of surveillance. Yet here it brings to life, if only in image form, the importance of uniformity, and central authority in Chadwicks visi on of the state. An important fact was that from the aftermath tower all cells could be viewed, yet from the cells the central tower was not visible. This is an interesting aspect to consider in the context of Chadwicks vision, especially that of social improvement. some other significant thread of Chadwicks social vision is its disciplinary thrust. Both during his time within the poor law and public health domains there can be seen a subversive attempt by Chadwick to create an improved social body. The most troublesome of which was the travail crystalise. To understand the political nature of Chadwicks work, one postulate to place it in its historical context.The most significant context is that of the Chartist movement. Emerging in the early 1830s and then re-emerging in the late 1840s, they were perceived as a very real threat to the Whig government of the time. The Chartist movement emerged out of the London Working Mens Association set up in 1836 by William Lovett. He later produced the Peoples Charter with Frances Place. They called for universal male suffrage. For the Whig government there was a very real fear that revolution could occur at any moment.19France was not so far away, and their recent history still lived fresh in the memory. There were several bouts of protests and marches by the Chartists, especially within urban areas. Some of which ended in violence, and the deaths of several Chartists. The Chartists movement was a rally point of sorts for the poor and disenfranchised labour population. Within this context one can understand the political nature of Chadwicks Sanitary Report in particular through his moulding of public health which incorporated a social preponderance. In addition to this context is that of the earlier disappointment at the inadequacies of the 1832 Parliamentary Reform propounded by Charles Greys Whig government. Along with this was the creation of the new poor law in 1834 the poor harvests during 1836 and 1837.20This context set the scene in which Chadwicks social and disciplinary ideas can be situated.Mary Poovey identifies Chadwicks attempt, through sanitary reform, to organise and control the labouring classes.21I use control here in the loosest sense of the word. Perhaps, as used earlier, discipline may be a more apt term. Chadwick, within the Sanitary Report, narrows public health to sanitation. Here one can identify Chadwicks divergence from the alternative attitudes towards public health such as existed in France, or even those attitudes of his British contemporaries, mainly within the medical region. He follows an environmental apparent movement of disease through filth theory. This however, does not only constitute the physical illness, but Chadwick also incorpo pass judgment psychological and social disease as being caused by this accumulation of filth.22His main focus is upon the labouring or working class, especially those within slums and residences of particular depravity. In a s anitary context these areas were identified by Chadwick as areas with the highest mortality rates. The other focal point is that of the importance of domesticity, and the cleanliness of the labourers domestic sphere not only towards the prevention of disease but also towards his social improvement.23Using rather selective evidence, (an issue that will be progress flesh out upon in a later section), Chadwick identifies place and class as the most significant determinants in the causation of disease. In this way he proved that the most important factor in the spread of disease was not only hooey filth, but where you lived.24Chadwick discounted exclusively the workplace.With the aforementioned political (Chartist) context in mind, one can identify the disciplinary thrust to Chadwicks Sanitary Report. The politicisation of the labouring classes was to both Chadwick and the Whig government a significant concern. Within the Sanitary Report Chadwick discourages those same labouring men from homo-social activity within any sphere, but particularly that of the public house. Chadwick links the frequenting of such places of vice as a product of the depraved check over of the domestic sphere which was its self a consequence of filth and disease.25As aforementioned, many middle-class commentators were concerned with the working classes use of public space, especially that of public houses. These were not only associated with insobriety and disorderly doings, but more significantly as places for radical labour organisation especially that of trade unionism.26In emphasising the importance of the domestic sphere Chadwick links the labouring mans individual identity to his family over any homo-social association.The growing urbanized and capitalist formation of England should be borne in mind. The industrial enterprise of England during this period brought with it the emergence of the capitalism and the importance of the free market. In such a context the middling-class es also emerged and gained a foothold within this new state.27Furthering this idea of discipline and social ordering it is clear through the Sanitary Report that Chadwicks ideal for which the labouring class should aspire to be was certainly that of the middling class the class who best fitted into the formation of Britain as an industrialising and capitalist nation. The middling class were seemingly more civilised than the labouring class, and more importantly they enjoyed lower rates of mortality. However, unfortunately for Chadwick, they were politically enfranchised.28This final issue as has been mentioned was significant. And within Chadwicks own work it creates a certain paradox.29Throughout his Sanitary Report Chadwick emphasises the importance of the reputability of domesticity, and improvements of the labouring class through the investment in institutions of savings, schooling, respectability and religion. Chadwick generalises the domestic values of the middle class to repr esent the whole of English society. Emphasising the importance of appropriated behaviour and their distinction from the frugality of the aristocrats and the licentious working-class, Chadwick establishes the naturalness of middle class living habits and the superiority thereof in both health and longevity.30Yet whilst placing this carrot of improvement in front of the labouring man, Chadwicks emphasis upon improvement is kept within the domestic sphere, thus allowing for sanitary and social improvement. This domestic emphasis limits the working man, actively avoiding and denying the political collusion that the middling classes enjoyed. In this way Chadwick allowed the labourer only part of the carrot of improvement.31Chadwick, therefore, denies members of the labouring population the opportunity of establishing the kinds of relationships with each other that facilitated the integration of the middle class as a political entity.32In this respect one sees the attempt by Chadwick to d iscipline the labouring class through focussing and their own self-discipline. What is more significant here is how Chadwick is able, in the climate of a reluctant-to-reform government, to get sanitary reform passed. This can be attributed to a number of factors most importantly, Chadwick was able in his report to incorporate the social into sanitation. Chadwick attributed filth theory not only to the causation of physical disease, but also to the causation of alcoholism and more significantly the labouring mans potentially revolutionary behaviour.33Chadwick addressed the political issue of the day whilst explicitly avoiding overtly political rhetoric. He made political unrest a sanitary issue. By masking those social issues with the sweeter taste of health and sanitation, Chadwick makes his vision easier to swallow for a reluctant government. This as Hamlin rightly points out is the true nature of Chadwicks Report. It was essentially a political piece of work, with social reorgani zation hidden behind the guise of disease prevention and public medicine.34This material and domestic focus allowed for Chadwick to avoid the issue of poverty as a determinant of disease. Chadwick discounted issues such as adequate food, clothing and sufficient wages as consequential to health. Although seemingly avoiding the issue of the poor law, Chadwick is inadvertently addressing the problem. His vision of sanitary improvement was intended to improve the very class for whom poor relief was a viable option. If through sanitation their physical, and psychological state could be improved then they would be less depraved, less inclined to drink and perhaps less likely to need to be relieved.Statistical information was not only a phenomenon of the Victorian period it was also a powerful reformist tool, pioneered by the social reformist James Phillips Kay.35Information and evidence are significant factors in the understanding of Chadwicks work both within the Royal Commission for the poor law and within his Sanitary Report. Chadwick was quick to utilise the power of information to further his reformist plan. This is evident throughout his work on the Royal Commission of the poor law, and of the Factories, and certainly within his Sanitary Report.36Influenced by his contemporary James Phillips Kay, Chadwick embarked upon the use of statistics and evidence for reformist purposes. This would seem a noble endeavour, classically associated with the reformist movement, in work such as the aforementioned Kay, and many others seeking to improve England. Chadwick was shrewder with his statistical evidence. Many historians suggest that he used only those statistics which would further his preconceived notions and aims. This is certainly evident mostly starkly, as Christopher Hamlin among other historians have identified, within the Sanitary Report.37Chadwicks narrowing of public health to that of sanitation is the prime example. Chadwick ignores completely the medical as pects of public health, refusing to include the medical profession into his vision. Furthermore, his emphasis upon the environmental cause of disease through filth completely ignored not only substantial evidence from physician such as Alison who exampled a complexity of issues to disease causation, but also his contemporary and friend James Phillips Kay. This narrow focus and selective evidence can be seen as a way of Chadwick avoiding certain issues for which he was reluctant to attribute to the health of the labouring class that being poverty and the new system of poor relief. Chadwicks focus upon the physical moved the focus away from claims by Poor Law medical officers that harsh Poor Law policies were the cause of illness and disease38Thus, for Chadwick to avoid confirming in writing that his already hated poor law was also a cause of disease he had to change tact and use statistics to prove otherwise. If hardship produced illness, a PL founded upon disincentives to seek relie f was counterproductive and morally indefensible.39Chadwick took the same attitude with the compilation of his evidence within the poor law commission. He used and selected the right evidence that would bolster his policy. There was opposition, yet Chadwick seemed, and did, amass voluminous amounts of evidence that back up his claim.40Chadwick throughout the period applied statistics to bolster his preconceived cause. He was so successful that he not only managed to enact his reforms, but also, made those reforms seem like the only viable reality.Chadwick was certainly an active reformist during this period, and even before.41With regards to whether Chadwick was a politician in disguise, is certainly nuanced and complex. He was not a political figure he was a reformist, and a civil servant of sorts.42Yet he certainly played the political game. He was active in much of the policy making that occurred during this period and had a significant role in the two most significant areas of reform the poor law and public health, for which he essentially established in England, if on somewhat narrower definitions than that of his French counterparts.43This in itself is an example of his attempts at creating a new social picture of England. His national vision extended from a centralised institutional authority to a mass social body. Everything Chadwick attempted was on a national scale. His vision of the improvement of Great Britain is evident in most of his works. And he was determined to have this vision become a reality. His selective use of evidence, the focus of his Sanitary Report, the Royal Commission on the poor law, certainly sways one in the direction of politician in disguise. Much of his work in contemporaneous context had subtle and subverted political agendas. The poor law was based on a deterrent system, which aimed at the reduction of expenditure. This is a more explicit involvement. Yet the Sanitary Reports is a prime example of a politician in disguis e. The overarching focus upon the health of the labouring poor is punctuated by the inclusion of discipline and social organisation.Yet for all these aspects, Chadwick was certainly more a product of his Benthamite roots. A man heavily influenced by Benthams Constitutional Code, but with his own individual drive and aspirations. In this way, improvement and reform were his true aims. He had a vision for the makeup if Britain and was determined to see that his ideas were realised, even if that meant making certain concessions to make it more appealing to government, and at times to cover his own back. One could suggest, especially within the Sanitary Report, that Chadwick chose sewers and water in a narrowing of public health because of their political innocuousness. He can be seen to actively avoid any explicit association with the politics of this area. Chadwick, unlike many of his Utilitarian contemporaries, was seemingly more inclined to diverge slightly from his Benthamite past if it meant the success of his policies.