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Beneath the surface: social reports as primary sources

Text Beneath the surface: social reports as primary sources

TLF ID M011238

This resource is about a report on the public heath conditions of Leeds in 1842 by a medical doctor, Robert Baker. It provides a background to the report along with information on Robert Baker and his credentials for undertaking the investigation. Extracts from the report describe the poor conditions of sanitation, the state of the roads, the standard of housing, overcrowding and the lack of water in houses. The report was sent to parliament and led to Britain's first Public Health Act in 1848. It includes text and still images.

Tags: primary sources - poor law and conditions
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Educational details

Educational value
  • This resource is useful for supporting the Australian Curriculum: History content description in year 9 relating to the experiences of men, women and children during the Industrial Revolution. It provides first-hand accounts of the dire living conditions of labourers and the unemployed, describing the housing conditions, sanitation, unpaved roads, lack of water and the accumulation of filth resulting from uncollected rubbish.
  • This resource is useful for the development of history skills. Students explain the significance of the context of the report by Doctor Baker and identify the purpose of the report.
  • This resource is useful for the development of history skills. Students use information from the extracts of the report as evidence to support a historical argument about the poor public health conditions in Leeds in the early 1840s.
Year level

9

Topics Industrialisation Health care Living standards English history Urbanisation
Learning area
  • History

Other details

Contributors
  • Copyright Holder
  • Name: British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
  • Organization: British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
  • Address: UNITED KINGDOM
  • URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk
  • Publisher
  • Name: British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
  • Organization: British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
  • Description: Publisher
  • Address: UNITED KINGDOM
  • URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk
  • Resource metadata contributed by
  • Name: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Organisation: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Address: AUSTRALIA
  • URL: www.esa.edu.au
Access profile
  • Generic
Learning Resource Type
  • Text
  • Image
Rights
  • Resource: BBC © 2012, except where indicated otherwise. You may download, copy and communicate this material for free, and use it in digital and hardcopy format for non-commercial educational use in Australian schools and TAFE institutions, provided you retain all acknowledgements associated with the material. 'Interactive' image: © Education Services Australia Limited 2012. You may copy, communicate and adapt this image for non-commercial educational purposes provided you retain all acknowledgements associated with the image.