The North benefited from having a much more productive economy. While the Southern economy was more agricultural and centered on cotton production, the North had begun to undergo industrialization and thus had a far more robust manufacturing economy that could produce arms and supplies. Additionally, the North was much more connected by rail than the South. The miles of rail in the North dwarfed the South which meant the North could move troops and supplies far more effectively to the battlefront. And finally, the North benefited from the fact that it was entering a slave-owning territory. The South was largely unable to prevent its enslaved population from undertaking sabotage or fleeing to the Union lines.
