LAWS AND ATTITUDES CONCERNING PAUPERISM IN TEXAS DURING THE LATE NINETEENTH AND EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURIES

This thesis examines the poor laws of Texas during the 19th and 20th centuries. It argues that even though laws required counties to provide enough aid to the poor to make them comfortable, commissioners provided only a limited amount of relief. This was due to a limited amount of funds and a negative public view toward paupers. This information is contextualized within the laws and attitudes present across the nation at the time. The research followed a historical approach to the materials which were found in newspapers, court records, commissioners’ court minutes, and collections within archives.