The document discusses several key events that contributed to rising tensions between the North and South and eventual Civil War, including the publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin which influenced views of slavery, the formation of the Free Soil party opposed to the expansion of slavery, John Brown's unsuccessful raid on Harpers Ferry to seize weapons, the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act exacerbating divisions, South Carolina voting to secede, and a violent attack on Lawrence, Kansas by pro-slavery forces. It poses questions about these events and asks which abolitionist approach the reader relates to more.