“For the Spiritual Emancipation of All”: 1870–1895

Chapter 3 focuses on Douglass’s visit to Britain in 1886-87. This visit has not been studied in detail by scholars, partly because Douglass had not returned to lecture about antislavery or racism. Douglass and his new wife Helen Pitts travelled across Europe for their honeymoon, then stayed in Britain for a number of months to rest and to allow Douglass to visit his old abolitionist friends. However, Douglass did lecture a few times, and his one extant speech is published here for the first time. He also gave interviews to the local press that indicated his concern that the British public was losing their concern for the mistreatment of African Americans. The chapter also examines the enduring relationships they Douglass developed with the British and Irish reform communities.