As the 19th century progressed, the United States became increasingly divided between North and South, largely revolving around the issue of slavery. Write an essay that traces both the attempts in Congress to “resolve” this longstanding debate over slavery AND the attempts by enslaved people and abolitionists to fight the existence of slavery. Your thesis statement (argument) must address the following central question: How important was the issue of slavery in the events leading up to the Civil War, and at what point did war over the issue become “inevitable”? You must use the following key terms: (1) Cotton Gin / Domestic Slave Trade / Missouri Compromise of 1820; (2) Nat Turner’s Revolt; (3) William Lloyd Garrison / Elijah Lovejoy / Gag Rule; and (4) Compromise of 1850 / Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 / Republican Party / Bleeding Kansas.