Having won abolition in their own country, British abolitionists turned their attention to the abolition of slavery in the United States and other slave-holding countries. Societies sprang up across the country, including the Glasgow Empancipation Society in 1833. Their aim was to campaign for an end to the continued system of slave labour across the Atlantic. Many leading American abolitionists toured Britain giving talks on the complex issues behind the abolition movement in America.
Frederick Douglass, a leading abolitionist, had escaped from slavery in America and became famous for his speeches against slavery. He spent two years in Britain from 1845 to 1847, at the height of the ‘Send Back the Money’ campaign in Scotland. This campaign involved Douglass and other abolitionists agitating for the Scottish Free Church to return funds it had garnered from slave-holding southern states, and was headline news all over the country.
Douglass visited Ayr in 1846 and gave speeches at public meetings at Cathcart Street Church on 23 and 24 of March. While in Ayrshire, he visited the birthplace of Robert Burns and later wrote about his joy at being able to see the places mentioned in Tam O’Shanter.
Back in America in 1847, Douglass was invited to address a Burns Supper in Rochester, New York. The inspiration he gained from Burns is evident in his speech:
… that though I am not a Scotchman, and have colored skin, I am proud to be among you this evening. And if any think me out of place on this occasion (pointing to the picture of Burns), I beg that the blame may be laid at the door of him who taught me that ‘a man’s a man for a’ that.