Conversation so far:
What was important for Ralph Waldo Emerson during the Civil War years?
A number of Ralph Waldo Emerson's friends and family members were more active abolitionists than he, at first, but from 1844 on, he more actively opposed slavery.

Question: Did he ever lecture regardless of how he felt?
Self-contained rewrite: Did Ralph Waldo Emerson ever lecture regardless of how he felt?