Be very specific and very narrow. For example, the US Civil War
is too broad, while the Gettysburg Battle is appropriately narrow.
You can select a person, an event, a cultural phenomenon, an
invention, etc. For example, you might write on the religion or
musical traditions of enslaved persons or the influence of the
Caribbean Islands on slavery in the South. You could also choose to
do a biography, such as a study of Hamilton, Franklin, Jefferson,
Sojourner Truth, or...