The Public Health Acts of 1848 and 1875 (AQA GCSE History)

Did the Public Health Acts improve the health of the people? - Summary

The Public Health Acts of 1848 and 1875 were important steps in improving the health of people in Britain because they showed the government beginning to take responsibility for public health. The 1848 Public Health Act encouraged local councils to improve drainage, clean water supplies, and rubbish collection. However, it was not compulsory for councils to act. The 1875 Public Health Act went further, making it a legal requirement for councils to provide clean water, proper sewage systems, and better housing. These acts signalled the government’s shift away from a laissez-faire attitude.

However, improvements were slow, and many health problems continued for decades. Even after 1875, there were still problems with poverty, poor diets, and diseases like tuberculosis. While these Public Health Acts were a turning point, they did not immediately solve all health issues. It took more time and continued government action for real progress to be made in improving public health for everyone.

Why did the government improve public health?

The government's attitude in the early 19th century

• The British government had a laissez-faire attitude to the health of the people

  • This is French for ‘allow to do’

    • It means not to interfere and let people make their own choices

Why changed the government's laissez-faire attitude?

• A series of factors forced the government to take responsibility for public health in the mid to late 19th century

  • Germ Theory

    • This explained how people became ill

    • It showed that better hygiene would prevent disease

  • The work of John Snow

    • Snow argued that dirty water, rather than miasma, caused cholera

  • The work of Robert Koch

    • Koch scientifically proved Snow's theory

    • He isolated the bacteria that caused certain diseases

  • Public health campaigners

    • Campaigners showed the unhygienic conditions of towns and cities

    • Their reports pressured the government to take action

Public Health Act, 1848

• The government introduced a Public Health Act in 1848

  • It encouraged cities to set up boards of health and provide clean water

How effective was the Public Health Act of 1848?

• The first Public Health Act had a limited impact on the health of the nation

• Local authorities did not need to follow the act

  • The government did not fine local authorities if they did not implement changes to towns

  • Without government pressure, many local authorities simply ignored the act

Public Health Act, 1875

• The government passed the second Public Health Act in 1875

• This act made it compulsory for local authorities to:

  • provide clean water

  • dispose of waste properly to avoid polluting drinking water

  • build public toilets

  • hire a public officer of health to monitor where epidemics of disease occurred

  • build new houses with better ventilation and check lodging houses were safe

  • provide parks for exercise

• A local authority who broke the terms of the Act would pay a fine

How effective was the Public Health Act of 1875?

• By the end of the 19th century, the government had abandoned their laissez-faire attitude

  • They acknowledged that it was the government’s responsibility to protect the health of the nation

• The government still had much work to do to improve public health

  • The Boer War (1899–1902) revealed that many British men were too unhealthy to fight

  • Life expectancy of British people remained low