insult." He was also astonished that he encountered so little racial prejudice among the British. The main topic of Douglass's lecturers were slavery, but he also discussed a number of other causes that had become important to him. Douglass had hated the way slaveowners would encourage their workers to drink themselves into a stupor during Christmas holidays. He saw alcohol as another means used to humiliate slaves. During his stay in Ireland, he also met with Daniel O'Connell, the Irish Catholic leader who was fighting to end British rule in his country. Douglass spoke out in favor of Irish independence. In the summer of 1846, Douglass was joined by William Lloyd Garrison, and they traveled around England as a powerful team of antislavery lecturers. In Scotland, the two became involved in a campaign against the Free Church of Scotland. The church was partly supported by contributions from American slaveholders of Scottish ancestry. Douglass and Garrison added their voices to the cries of local antislavery activists: "Send the money back." The church kept the money, but the dispute gained publicity for Douglass's battle against American slavery. The World Temperance Convention that was held in London in August 1846 was the scene of Douglass's most controversial speech. There he attacked the American temperance movement because it failed to criticize slaveowners who used alcohol to pacify their workers. He also felt that the temperance activists were hostile to free blacks. The Reverend Samuel Cox, a member of the American delegation, publicly accused him of trying to destroy the unity of the temperance movement. Douglass responded that Cox was a bigot and, like many other clergymen, a secret supporter of slavery. By the fall of 1846, Douglass was ready to return home. Garrison and other friends convinced him to stay another six months, but Douglass rejected suggestions that he settle in England. His work lay in America where his people...
