1. Broadwater School History Department “A policy of sewage” - Why did politicians pass the Public Health Act in 1875? Glossary Politician - a person actively engaged in politics, especially a Member of Parliament. Parliament - where news laws are made. politics - the art and science of government. Public Health Act - a law that improved public health. policy - a plan of action adopted by a person, group, or by a government. government - the system by which a country is ruled. civil servant - someone who works for the government. laissez-faire - a government policy of not taking any part in interfering in peoples’ lives.

2. Broadwater School History Department “A policy of sewage” - Why did politicians pass the Public Health Act in 1875? Contemporary cartoon showing Death as the Grim Reaper rowing up the Thames Punch engraving - The Silent Highwayman, 10th July, 1858 In the absence of any scientific understanding of the propagation of disease, there was a widely held belief that foul- smelling air was responsible for the spread of epidemics such as cholera. This accounted for the widespread panic during the hot summer of 1858 when the stench from the Thames became unbearable. This engraving shows Punch’s view of cholera on the Thames when the Great Stink was at its height.

3. Broadwater School History Department “A policy of sewage” - Why did politicians pass the Public Health Act in 1875? How many bloated bodies of dead animals are there? If you had seen this cartoon in 1858, what would you have felt about living in London? Where were the Houses of Parliament? Why is death shown patrolling the Thames?

4. Broadwater School History Department “A policy of sewage” - Why did politicians pass the Public Health Act in 1875? How many bloated bodies of dead animals are there? There are four bloated bodies. If you had seen this cartoon in 1858, what would you have felt about living in London? If I had seen this cartoon I would have not wanted to drink water from the River Thames. Where were the Houses of Parliament? Parliament is on the bank of the River Thames. Why is death shown patrolling the Thames? Death is shown like this to scare people in London. It was to scare Parliament into cleaning up the filth in the River Thames.

5. Broadwater School History Department “A policy of sewage” - Why did politicians pass the Public Health Act in 1875? Step 1 - Five key facts to persuade other politicians to pass the new Public Health Act. The “Great Stink” and the filth in the River Thames. This means we need a new Public Health Act because... now we can smell just how bad things have become. We are the only people with the powers to bring about improvements. Edwin Chadwick and Doctor Snow have shown the link between... dirt and disease. Dirty water causes deaths. Louis Pasteur has discovered the existence of germs. The new Act will force local councils to clean up their towns by making them responsible for public health by... (page 85 list).

6. Broadwater School History Department “A policy of sewage” - Why did politicians pass the Public Health Act in 1875? Step 1 - Five key facts to persuade other politicians to pass the new Public Health Act. The “Great Stink” and the filth in the River Thames. This means we need a new Public Health Act because now we can smell just how bad things have become. We are the only people with the powers to bring about improvements. Edwin Chadwick and Doctor Snow have shown the link between dirt and disease. Dirty water causes deaths. Louis Pasteur has discovered the existence of germs. The new Act will force local councils to clean up their towns by making them responsible for public health by... (page 85 list).

7. Broadwater School History Department “A policy of sewage” - Why did politicians pass the Public Health Act in 1875? Step 2 - Three key facts to show that fear of disease was growing by 1875. Diseases like tuberculosis and typhoid are... killing thousands of poor people every year. We are the only people with the powers to bring about improvements. Britain has been struck by a new epidemic disease called... cholera. This is killing both the rich and to poor. Rich people want us to... spend money cleaning up the slums where the disease comes from. Prince Albert died from... typhoid, caught from the sewers at Windsor Castle. Britain needs a healthy workforce if... we are to be able to compete with France and Germany.

8. Broadwater School History Department “A policy of sewage” - Why did politicians pass the Public Health Act in 1875? Step 2 - Three key facts to show that fear of disease was growing by 1875. Diseases like tuberculosis and typhoid are... killing thousands of poor people every year. We are the only people with the powers to bring about improvements. Britain has been struck by a new epidemic disease called... cholera. This is killing both the rich and to poor. Rich people want us to... spend money cleaning up the slums where the disease comes from. Prince Albert died from... typhoid, caught from the sewers at Windsor Castle. Britain needs a healthy workforce if... we are to be able to compete with France and Germany.

9. Broadwater School History Department “A policy of sewage” - Why did politicians pass the Public Health Act in 1875? Step 3 - Three key facts to show that ideas about power were changing. For most of the 19th richer people controlled Parliament. They believed in “laissez-faire”. This meant... that they did not think it was their job to spend rich people’s money cleaning up the poorer areas of towns. Cholera epidemics changed attitudes to laissez-faire. Many town councils had to be forced to... do something about the poor state of their towns. The 1867 Reform Act gave the vote to working class men in the towns. Town councillors and politicians had to... start doing things that would please to poorer voters, like improving public health.

10. Broadwater School History Department “A policy of sewage” - Why did politicians pass the Public Health Act in 1875? Step 3 - Three key facts to show that ideas about power were changing. For most of the 19th richer people controlled Parliament. They believed in “laissez-faire”. This meant... that they did not think it was their job to spend rich people’s money cleaning up the poorer areas of towns. Cholera epidemics changed attitudes to laissez-faire. Many town councils had to be forced to... do something about the poor state of their towns. The 1867 Reform Act gave the vote to working class men in the towns. Town councillors and politicians had to start doing things that would please to poorer voters, like improving public health.