* The northern states were largely industrialized, with a strong manufacturing base and a growing population.
* The North also had a larger population of free African Americans than the South.
* The North's economy was more diverse than the South's, and it was less dependent on agriculture.
* The North had a stronger navy than the South, which gave it control of the seas and the ability to blockade Southern ports.
The South (the Confederacy):
* The southern states were largely agricultural, with a plantation economy based on cotton and tobacco.
* The South had a much larger population of enslaved African Americans than the North.
* The South's economy was heavily dependent on agriculture, and it was vulnerable to disruptions in the cotton trade.
* The South had a smaller navy than the North, and it was unable to break the Union's blockade of its ports.