TL;DR:

Discover the unexpected bond between Robert Burns, Scotland’s poet laureate, and Frederick Douglass, the renowned American abolitionist. Despite vastly different backgrounds, Burns’ poetry profoundly influenced Douglass, inspiring his activism against slavery. Through shared struggles and admiration for Burns, Douglass found inspiration that transcended borders, shaping his legacy as a tireless advocate for freedom and equality.

Robert Burns and Frederick Douglas

Robert Burns and Frederick Douglass: Unlikely Connections

At first glance, one would not imagine a connection between the Poet Laureate of Scotland and a runaway enslaved person turned greatest American orator and abolitionist of the 19^th century. Robert “Rabbie” Burns (January 25, 1759 – July 21, 1796) was a poet and lyricist who rose from poverty and was known for his carousing almost as much as he was for his poetry. Frederick Douglass (February 14, 1818[a] – February 20, 1895) escaped enslavement, was self-educated and would go on to convince Lincoln to abolish Slavery and allow African Americans to fight as Union soldiers.  One almost couldn’t imagine two people further apart in life journeys. And yet, there is a connection, and even a bond, between these two well-known men who never met.

Robert Burns as depicted on a Scottish Banknote.

Robert Burns: The Scottish Bard

Burns grew up in and around Ayrshire enduring poverty and hardship. Beginning at a young age as a laborer on farms in the area, his schooling was irregular and much of it from his father who was self-educated. By age 15, Burns was the main laborer on the farm, and already beginning his dalliances into poetry for the same purpose that the Dead Poet’s Society says language was invented: “to woo women.”  What began as a simple attempt to win his first love, Nelly Kilpatrick, “O, Once I Lov’d A Bonnie Lass” aka “Handsome Nell,” would set the stage for Scotland’s future favorite son to create a body of work that would touch the hearts and inspire the souls of countless admirers to come. One such person was Frederick Douglass.

Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass: A Journey From Bondage To Activism

Frederick Douglass, born into enslavement as Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, grew up in bondage, enduring all of the horrors of Slavery in America until he successfully escaped at age 20 to the North. Settling in New Bedford, Massachusetts (an abolitionist stronghold) with his new wife Anna, Douglass began his work in earnest, becoming a preacher and an abolitionist.  An interesting side note is that “Douglass” was chosen for him by his friend Nathan Johnson who he’d asked to select a suitable name for him. Johnson chose the name “Douglass” based on his reading of the poem “The Lady of the Lake” by Walter Scott, in which two of the principal characters have the surname “Douglas.” Scott was another who was inspired by Burns when he met him at age 16.

Again, it seems a safe bet that there would be no connection between these two men, but that would be a bet you would lose.

Frederick Douglass’ Literary Inspiration

The first book Douglass purchased after his escape from Slavery was an edition of James Currie‘s Works of Robert Burns, which he later gifted to his eldest son, Lewis.  Reading that book led to not just an admiration, but a love of the Bard, so much so that he would often quote Burns and made a pilgrimage to Burns’ home when he visited Scotland in 1846. Douglass had begun traveling around America as an anti-slavery lecturer of the Abolitionist movement in 1841. His oratory skills were so great that people came from all over to hear him speak, but if they were “pro-slavery,” to attack him. This happened so much that his hand was broken one time and never healed properly.

But that was nothing compared to what his friends and family feared lay in store for Douglass after the publication of his best-known work, “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself,” his first autobiography. Douglass represented more than just a gifted orator who escaped Slavery; his very existence repudiated the notion that African Americans were ignorant and not capable of anything more than manual labor. Published in 1845, the book was so well-written that it drew in the skeptics who could scarcely believe a Black man could have produced such a thing. But his reputation as an orator backed the claim that he did this himself. The book became an immediate bestseller and was reprinted nine times in the first three years, and had 11,000 copies in circulation in America. So popular was his book (it was also translated into French and Dutch and published in Europe) that his friends feared that his former owner might come across it and proceed to the North to attempt to recapture his “property” (Douglass). His friends convinced him to travel to Europe until the excitement died down.

This is where the plot thickens.

Ayr, Scotland with a view of the Robert Burns memorial. Photo by Jonathan Palmer.

Travels To Robert Burns’ Home

Douglass embarked on a two-year tour of Ireland, Scotland and England with about five months being spent in Scotland, traveling back and forth across the country. Giving speech after speech, trumpeting the clarion call of anti-Slavery, sometimes even holding up a pair of bloody manacles to drive home the point. Douglass’ words rang across the country as he campaigned against the Free Church of Scotland taking what he described as blood-soaked dollars from slaveholders and demanded that they “Send back the money!”  Douglass’ message was received exceedingly well.

But the most significant part of his trip was when he traveled to Ayr for two speeches there, as it was a part of the tour he’d been looking forward to: a chance to visit the birthplace of Burns. Douglass had been inspired by Burns’ work, his understanding of the human condition, and the commonalities he saw in both of their struggles. His excitement was palpable as he described his arrival:

“I am now in the town of Ayr. It is famous for being the birth-place of Robert Burns, the poet, by whose brilliant genius every stream, hill, glen and valley in the neighborhood have been made classic. I have felt more intense in visiting this place than any other in Scotland, for, as you are aware, (painfully perhaps) I am an enthusiastic admirer of Robt. Burns.”

Douglass was escorted by Reverend Renwick, who was hosting the lecture at his meeting house  three miles from the site of the Burns Monument; stopping first to visit with Burns’ sister and nieces:

“On our way to the Monument we enjoyed a pleasure and a privilege I shall never forget. It was that of seeing and conversing with Mrs. Beggs, an own sister of Robert Burns, and also seeing and talking with the poet’s two nieces, daughters of Mrs Beggs. They live by the road side in a small thatched cottage, humble but comfortable. When Mr. Renwick made them acquainted with the fact that we were from America they received us warmly. One of the nieces said her uncle was more highly esteemed in America than in Scotland. 

Mrs. Beggs is the youngest sister of Robert Burns, and though now approaching 80, she does not look to be more than sixty. She enjoys good health, is a spirited looking woman, and bids fair to live yet many days. The two daughters are truly fine looking women. Coal black hair, full, high foreheads, and yet black eyes, sparkling with the poetic fire which illumined the breast of their brilliant uncle.”

Their visit was wonderful for Douglass, each sharing kind words and passing around some letters in Burns’ own handwriting for Douglass to see. The family was well versed in what visitors long to see when paying homage to their relative. In return, Douglass drew parallels between their lives and the adversity Burns had faced in context to his own life. Douglass and Reverend Renwick bid goodbye to their hosts and continued on to the monument, a tall Grecian-style temple surrounded by manicured gardens, built on the banks of the River Doon:

“The place of the Monument is well chosen, being in full view of all the places mentioned and referred to in the Poet’s famous poem called “Tam O’Shanter,” as well as several others of his most popular poems. From the Monument (which I have not time to describe,) may be seen the Cottage where Burns was born – the old and new bridge across the Doon – “Kirk Alloway,” called by Burns the “Haunted Kirk.” The banks of “Doon” rising majestically from the sea toward the sky, and the Clyde stretching off to the highlands of Arran, whose dim out-line is scarcely discernible through the fog by which it is almost constantly overhung, makes the spot admirably and beautifully adapted to the monument of Scotland’s noble bard.

In the Monument there is a finely executed marble bust of Burns – the finest thing of the kind I ever saw. I never before, looking upon it, realized the power of man to make the marble speak. The expression is so fine, and the face is so lit up, as to cause one to forget the form in gazing upon the spirit.”

© photos by Jonathan Palmer

Douglass finished the pilgrimage and continued on to give his lecture that night, the memories of his experience still ablaze in his mind.

Shared Humanity and Hope: Tearing Down Walls

Douglass considered this trip to be one of the most transformational periods of his life. While touring, he had become legally free. British supporters led by abolitionist, Anna Richardson, and her sister-in-law, Ellen, based out of Newcastle upon Tyne, had raised £150 to purchase Douglass’ freedom on 5 December 1846. He was also appointed “Scotland’s Anti-slavery agent.”  Maps of the places in Edinburgh that were important to his stay are held by the National Library of Scotland which you can view here: https://www.nls.uk/exhibitions/frederick-douglass/maps/. A plaque and a mural on Gilmore Place in Edinburgh mark his stay there in 1846. He returned to America a free person and an international celebrity, especially in Scotland, which always stayed close to his heart.

Jonathan Palmer, Clan MacFarlane Director of Heritage, visits the Robert Burns Museum in Ayrshire, Scotland.

Contemporary Relevance : A Shared Journey

As a person who comes from a bi-racial background, to have two people who are not only significant figures in each side of my heritage, but also personal heroes of mine, have such a strong connection is revelatory to me. So much of history is buried, built over, or just plain omitted, and it keeps hidden so much of the context necessary to understand that we, as human beings, are not that far apart from each other.  If Frederick Douglass can be inspired by Robert Burns, and in turn, inspire the people of Scotland so much that it has an impact on the ending of Slavery in America…I think we might be able to tear down some of the walls that separate us today and find the common thread that links us all together.

If I’m wrong then I’ll borrow Douglass’ excuse he issued to a roomful of Scotsmen when giving a Toast to the Immortal Memory of Robert Burns on January 25, 1849, stating that “if any think me out of place on this occasion [pointing at a 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’.”