Genders and Sexualities in History Series Editors: John H. Arnold, Joanna Bourke and Sean Brady Palgrave Macmillan’s series, Genders and Sexualities in History, aims to accommodate and foster new approaches to historical research in the fi elds of genders and sexualities. The series promotes world-class scholarship that concentrates upon the interconnected themes of genders, sexualities, religions/religiosity, civil society, class formations, politics and war. Historical studies of gender and sexuality have often been treated as disconnected fi elds, while in recent years historical analyses in these two areas have synthesised, creating new departures in historiography. By linking genders and sexualities with questions of religion, civil society, politics and the contexts of war and confl ict, this series will refl ect recent devel- opments in scholarship, moving away from the previously dominant and narrow histories of science, scientifi c thought, and legal processes. The result brings together scholarship from contemporary, modern, early modern, medieval, classical and non-Western history to pro- vide a diachronic forum for scholarship that incorporates new approaches to genders and sexualities in history Unemployment, Welfare, and Masculine Citizenship: ‘So Much Honest Poverty’ in Britain, 1870–1930 is a groundbreaking study of the politics of unemployment, welfare and masculinities in late nineteenth and early twentieth century Britain. This fascinating and highly original book explores how concepts of ‘honest poverty’ developed in the contexts of chronic and mass unemployment, and the ways in which these were applied to men. Through the lens of ‘honest poverty’, Marjorie Levine-Clark examines political and social expectations of working-class masculine status, with its emphases upon the work imperative, independence, self- sufficiency, and support of families. Men who failed or refused to uphold their respon- sibilities shaped the boundaries of what it meant to be a citizen in Britain. The ‘honest poverty’ work-welfare system, in which men remained ‘men’ in spite of dependence upon welfare, has shaped the rhetoric of welfare in Britain ever since. In common with all v olumes in the Genders and Sexualities in History series, Unemployment, Welfare, and Masculine Citizenship presents a multifaceted and meticulously researched scholarly study, and is a sophisticated contribution to our understanding of the past. Titles include: John H. Arnold and Sean Brady (editors) WHAT IS MASCULINITY? Historical Dynamics from Antiquity to the Contemporary World Heike Bauer and Matthew Cook (editors) QUEER 1950s Cordelia Beattie and Kirsten A. Fenton (editors) INTERSECTIONS OF GENDER, RELIGION AND ETHNICITY IN THE MIDDLE AGES Valeria Babini, Chiara Beccalossi and Lucy Riall (editors) ITALIAN SEXUALITIES UNCOVERED, 1789–1914 Chiara Beccalossi FEMALE SEXUAL INVERSION Same-Sex Desires in Italian and British Sexology, c. 1870–1920 Roberto Bizzocchi A LADY’S MAN The Cicisbei, Private Morals and National Identity in Italy Raphaëlle Branche and Fabrice Virgili (editors) RAPE IN WARTIME Matt Cook QUEER DOMESTICITIES Homosexuality and Home Life in Twentieth-Century London Peter Cryle and Alison Moore FRIGIDITY An Intellectual History Lucy Delap and Sue Morgan MEN, MASCULINITIES AND RELIGIOUS CHANGE IN TWENTIETH CENTURY BRITAIN Jennifer V. Evans LIFE AMONG THE RUINS Cityscape and Sexuality in Cold War Berlin Kate Fisher and Sarah Toulalan (editors) BODIES, SEX AND DESIRE FROM THE RENAISSANCE TO THE PRESENT Christopher E. Forth and Elinor Accampo (editors) CONFRONTING MODERNITY IN FIN-DE-SIÈCLE FRANCE Bodies, Minds and Gender Rebecca Fraser GENDER, RACE AND FAMILY IN NINETEENTH CENTURY AMERICA From Northern Woman to Plantation Mistress Alana Harris and Timothy Jones (editors) LOVE AND ROMANCE IN BRITAIN, 1918–1970 Dagmar Herzog (editor) BRUTALITY AND DESIRE War and Sexuality in Europe’s Twentieth Century Josephine Hoegaerts MASCULINITY AND NATIONHOOD, 1830–1910 Constructions of Identity and Citizenship in Belgium Robert Hogg MEN AND MANLINESS ON THE FRONTIER Queensland and British Columbia in the Mid-Nineteenth Century Julia Laite COMMON PROSTITUTES AND ORDINARY CITIZENS Commercial Sex in London, 1885–1960 Marjorie Levine-Clark UNEMPLOYMENT, WELFARE, AND MASCULINE CITIZENSHIP “So Much Honest Poverty” in Britain, 1870–1930 Andrea Mansker SEX, HONOR AND CITIZENSHIP IN EARLY THIRD REPUBLIC FRANCE Jessica Meyer MEN OF WAR Masculinity and the First World War in Britain Meredith Nash MAKING ‘POSTMODERN’ MOTHERS Pregnant Embodiment, Baby Bumps and Body Image Jennifer D. Thibodeaux (editor) NEGOTIATING CLERICAL IDENTITIES Priests, Monks and Masculinity in the Middle Ages Kristin Fjelde Tjelle MISSIONARY MASCULINITY, 1870–1930 The Norwegian Missionaries in South-East Africa Hester Vaizey SURVIVING HITLER’S WAR Family Life in Germany, 1939–48 Clayton J. Whisnant MALE HOMOSEXUALITY IN WEST GERMANY Between Persecution and Freedom, 1945–69 Tim Reinke-Williams WOMEN, WORK AND SOCIABILITY IN EARLY MODERN LONDON Midori Yamaguchi DAUGHTERS OF THE ANGLICAN CLERGY Religion, Gender and Identity in Victorian England Forthcoming titles: Melissa Hollander SEX IN TWO CITIES The Negotiation of Sexual Relationships in Early Modern England and Scotland Genders and Sexualities in History Series Series Standing Order 978–0–230–55185–5 Hardback 978–0–230–55186–2 Paperback (outside North America only) You can receive future titles in this series as they are published by placing a standing order. Please contact your bookseller or, in case of diffi culty, write to us at the address below with your name and address, the title of the series and the ISBN quoted above. Customer Services Department, Macmillan Distribution Ltd, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS, England This page intentionally left blank Unemployment, Welfare, and Masculine Citizenship “So Much Honest Poverty” in Britain, 1870–1930 Marjorie Levine-Clark University of Colorado Denver, USA © Marjorie Levine-Clark 2015 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2015 978-1-137-39320-3 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2015 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndsmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG21 6XS Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Palgrave is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-48355-6 ISBN 978-1-137-39322-7 (eBook) DOI10.1057/9781137393227 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. Typeset by MPS Limited, Chennai, India. For my mom, Ann Friedman, and my dad, Robert Levine. Thanks. This page intentionally left blank Contents List of Figures, Tables, and Maps xii Preface xiv Acknowledgments xvi 1 “So Much Honest Poverty”: Introduction 1 Unemployment and welfare 3 Masculine citizenship 6 Black Country contexts 10 Structure and sources 17 Part I Unemployment and the Continuities of Honest Poverty 2 Not “Weary Willies” or “Tired Tims”: The Work Imperative in the Poor Law World 25 The Poor Law and the Labour Test 27 Task work versus work relief 32 The growing honest poor/pauper dichotomy 35 The nation in the poor law world 38 The poor law world overwhelmed 42 Conclusion 49 3 “They were not single men”: Responsibility for Family and Hierarchies of Deservedness 50 Profiles of poor law applicants 52 Constructing married men’s privilege 62 Family liability in the politics of unemployed men 67 Family liability in crisis 70 Men’s unemployment and women’s work 77 Conclusion 80 4 “A reward for good citizenship”: National Unemployment Benefits and the Genuine Search for Work 82 The development of national unemployment benefits 84 Genuine work and suitable employment 91 Work history and skill 93 Respectability and women’s work 96 ix