Speenhamland System: Named after the location of a meeting of Berkshire justices who developed the system, it sought to alleviate some of the hardship caused by poor harvests by subsidizing wages with poor relief funds. The subsidies were based on the price of bread and the size of the family. Critics claimed the system served only to drive down the wages actually paid by farmers and to create permanent poverty.
Malthus's Essay on the Principle of Population published. Malthus argued that population tends to increase geometrically, while food production only increases arithmetically, thus creating acute shortages. Shortages cause famine and disease, which act as checks on population growth. Humans could also control population through preventive checks such as abstinence. Poor relief, however, only worsened the situation by increasing the demands on the food supply.
Combination Acts outlawed any combination in restraint of trade. While technically applicable to both masters and workers, these laws really attempted to stop the growth of trade unions.
The Health and Morals of Apprentices Act forbade the hiring out of pauper children for work in the cotton mills until they were nine years of age, restricted their working day to 12 hours, and prohibited their employment at night.
Primitive Methodists organized, with an emphasis on prophecy and enthusiasm. While Methodism became progressively more middle class as it sought financial support, the Primitive Methodists relied on “mechanik” (nonprofessional) preachers and free-will offerings.
