One advantage was that the North had more resources than the South. The North had more people, more minerals, more factories, more miles of railroad tracks, and more ships than the South had. These advantages helped the Union army when they were fighting the Confederate army.
Full Answer
This is often cited as a Southern advantage. Yet in actual numbers, the ratio of firearms between the North and the South was a staggering 32 to 1. The use of railroads would prove crucial to the Union’s ultimate victory. The ability to rapidly transport soldiers and supplies greatly assisted the effort to defeat the Confederacy.
The advantages enjoyed by the North at the start of the American Civil War should have pointed toward a short confrontation, in line with General Winfield Scott’s initial estimation. Even a worried but confident Abraham Lincoln perceived his response as a “police action” designed to bring the recalcitrant states back in the Union.
At the start of the war, the North boasted 22,000 miles of track compared to 9,000 in the South. Further, as the war progressed, the inability to properly maintain the Southern system hurt Southern defensive strategies.
Yet in actual numbers, the ratio of firearms between the North and the South was a staggering 32 to 1. The use of railroads would prove crucial to the Union’s ultimate victory. The ability to rapidly transport soldiers and supplies greatly assisted the effort to defeat the Confederacy.
The North had geographic advantages, too. It had more farms than the South to provide food for troops. Its land contained most of the country's iron, coal, copper, and gold. The North controlled the seas, and its 21,000 miles of railroad track allowed troops and supplies to be transported wherever they were needed.
In 1860, the North manufactured 97 percent of the country's firearms, 96 percent of its railroad locomotives, 94 percent of its cloth, 93 percent of its pig iron, and over 90 percent of its boots and shoes. The North had twice the density of railroads per square mile.
What advantages did the North have during the Civil War? More soldiers, more farms, more railroads, more money, and more states. Had 90% of the weapons, clothes and shoes.
The North had a better economic than the South so the North had more troops to fight the war. The North had railroads steamboats roads and canals for faster transport of supplies and troops.