The Poor Laws of 1601

America's foundation for social welfare comes from the laws and traditions of England. Less than two decades before the Pilgrim's arrival in the New World, English welfare practices had been codified into law by Parliament during the reign of Elizabeth.

Main principles included local control, with administrative units made up of parishes, and select residents of the parish designated "overseers of the poor."

These overseers had responsibility for the poor of the parish, including finding work, taking care of neglected children and providing relief for "the lame, impotent, old, blind, and such other among them, being poor and not able to work." Emphasizing care for the disabled and aged made a distinction between "deserving" and "undeserving" poor.

For neglected children, whose parents were found by the overseers to be unfit to "keep and maintain" them, care took the form of being apprenticed to a local tradesman.

Local control of social welfare under the Poors of 1601 also meant local financing, with overseers given broad authority to levy taxes on parish residents

The 1601 Poor Laws were the basis of English social policy until the mid-1800's. Their influence on American practice, particularly in New England, was tremendous. In fact, until recent times, New Hampshire welfare case-workers were called "overseers of the poor."


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