During the civil war, she redirected her energies to providing assistance to the Union army, fund-raising, and using her wit and reputation to offer solace and encouragement to African-American soldiers.
After the war, she turned her attentions to combating new problems, such as racial segregation on public transport, the impoverishment of (largely) southern African-American refugees, and unemployment and land shortages among African-Americans. She was also a vocal supporter of universal suffrage. Her astute exploitation of her reputation, through photography and print, helped her to become one of the most well-known orators of the century, and beyond.