In August 1904 Davidson, accompanied by his wife, sailed to the United States to attend the triennial convention of the American Episcopal Church; he was the first Archbishop of Canterbury to visit the US. He met many Church leaders in the US and Canada, and established closer links between the Anglican Churches of England and North America. This accomplishment abroad was followed by a setback at home: Davidson's unsuccessful attempt to bring political leaders to agree about national education policy. The Liberals had opposed the passage of the 1902 Education Act, and once in office in 1906 they reopened the issue. Their attempts at further reform were opposed by the Conservatives, and from 1906 to 1908 Davidson strove to bring the two sides to compromise. His failure to secure agreement and achieve a cohesive primary education system was one of the major regrets of his life. In 1907 Davidson disappointed some Liberals by not explicitly backing state old-age pensions, but he declined to do so merely in the abstract, insisting on detailed proposals before expressing support. He was much more forthcoming on atrocities by the Belgians in the Congo and the Bulgarians in Macedonia, which he condemned vehemently.