Ali Ibrahim

10/26/2023

Prof. Froide

Reading Response: Poverty & Policy in Tudor & Stuart England - Paul Slack

Topics which naturally involve statistical analysis, like economics, often confound readers with a

more humanities-oriented field of study. It is the work of social historians like Paul Slack in

Poverty & Policy in Tudor & Stuart England which can transform a jumble of sources and data

into a coherent social-historical image. Slack follows a somewhat standard model of analysis and

explanation in Poverty & Policy, but there are specific elements of Slack’s writing which

facilitate greater understanding in an unfamiliar reader. Some historians, like Miranda Kaufmann

of Black Tudors, choose to center the voices of the primary sources in order to accomplish their

rhetorical goals. However, direct excerpts in Poverty & Policy are less frequent. The contents of

each chapter are sandwiched by a summarizing introduction and conclusion. Additionally, each

chapter contains his explanation of the relevant political-historical background information,

supported by secondary scholarship. Thus, even when graphs or quotes are introduced, his

extensive explanatory measures make the text less dense and confusing. However, Slack’s

writing style lacks any descriptive or narrative quality, which makes the text dry reading.

Chapter 8, “The Growth of Social Welfare,” is a master class in converting complicated

analysis into an understandable explanation. In the first sentence, Slack sets a clear goal: to

“measure the growth of statutory poor relief” in order to “properly assess its contribution to the
alleviation of poverty.” He outlines the various subjects he will need to cover in order to answer

his question, including private philanthropy and the rate at which poor rates were adopted

throughout the country. Slack knows that the topic he is covering is complex, and he

appropriately chooses to eschew flowery language or a hooking excerpt in order to be as clear as

possible. He explains his methodology for his choice of sources, sparing no detail on the

accuracy or lack thereof of each. As he presents the rates, numbers of pensions and other

statistics into various tables and graphs, what once appeared as an intimidating jumble of

numbers became a clear picture because of his thorough explanation. He concludes that, despite

private charity making up the majority of financial support to the poor at the beginning of the

seventeenth century, by the end of the century public relief was nearly three times what was

given from private sources. In Slack’s words, the “machine of social welfare” began “running out

of control in the later seventeenth century” due to the growing cost of living. I will not pretend

like I enjoyed reading all of those numbers and statistics, but Slack managed to provide all

necessary information in a clear and concise manner, and I left with a greater understanding of

the state of public and private philanthropy in early modern England.

As mentioned previously, Poverty and Policy wastes no time with flowery or descriptive

language. Although I can appreciate an objective, statistical approach to scholarly writing, I

struggled to care about the subject matter. Topics like poverty and the changes in living

conditions brought by a social safety net provides more than enough opportunity for narratives

and description. Slack could have walked the reader through what the average welfare recipient

could eat with what they received, or what kind of living arrangements they could afford. One or

two sections on the lived experiences of those suffering from poverty would do much to help a
reader develop an understanding of the importance of these policies - or at the very least, it

would be a break from having to read all those numbers.