Advantages & disadvantages of the north vs the south in the civil war?

Answer 1

Northern Advantages (Southern Disadvantages)
Manufacturing Capabilities


The primary advantage was the North's manufacturing capabilities. Their factories could mass produce weapons while the South had few facilities capable of providing the arms needed.

The North had greater production of war materials and comestibles.

The North had experienced an industrial revolution which left them with many factories to produce supplies necessary for outfitting an army. Also, with immigrants coming mostly to the North to settle (they were looking for jobs in the factories), little if any production was lost becasue of men leaving to fight in the war. Women and immigrants had been the main workers in the factories that now would be producing goods to be used by the Union soldiers.

The Southern dependance on agriculture was a major disadvantage and the dependance on slavery made it even harder for the South to industrialize. Being unable to industrialize was a real disadvantage because it meant that the South could not produce all the things they needed for war such as weapons. The Northern blockade also prevented trade with Europe making the situation even worse!

The North was much better equipped with the foundries and factories needed for producing weapons of war. The South was much more geared toward producing raw materials, primarily agricultural products, and sending them elsewhere for conversion into finished goods. The South was thus hard pressed to keep its troops adequately equipped.

Population


The North's had nearly three times the population. (20 million vs. nine million in the South, four million of whom were black slaves.) The larger population provided a steady source of military and civilian manpower.

The North had a larger population which translated into the ability to field a larger army. However, while many men (and boys) eagerly went to enlist during the opening months of the Civil War, they lacked the experience needed to fight a war and time had to be taken to properly train the troops.

The North, being more populous, was also able to field a larger army, and to replace combat casualties. Grant, for example, refused prisoner exchange offers from the South, for the strategic reason that the South needed their soldiers back much worse than did the North.

There is a lot more at this website below
http://www.faqfarm.com/Q/What_advantages_did_the_North_have_over_the_South_in_the_US_Civil_War

Answer 2

Advantages for the north were:
a. Far larger population from which to raise armies
b. Richer and far more industrialized
c. Better railway network
d. Bigger ocean going navy capable of intercepting blockade runners and protecting Northern commerce (which added to wealth) and also to threaten any part of the Southern coast.
e. Enough European immigration to offset many human losses
f. Recognized as a legitimate government by European states and thus able to block much (but far from all) Confederate procurement by diplomatic means
g. good water routes into Confederate territory (after control of the Mississippi was established then the Tennessee, Cumberland, Alabama, and White Rivers could be used by Federal water borne Federal forces and therefore could not serve as defensive lines
Advantages for the South were:
a. Its sheer size. It was far too big to be occupied by Federal forces, which lack of control of rural areas allowed irregular warfare to develop
b. Faced with a larger and better equipped opponent the Confederates had to use a basically defensive strategy -which is easier and needs fewer forces than a strategic offensive (Confederate offensives often failed - Gettysburg, Antietam, Perry ville, Chattanooga, etc)
c. Had a large pool of men with a military education to draw on (not just from West Point, but also from the Military Academies like the Virginia Military Institute and the Citadel in South Carolina)
d. The South did need to conquer the North - and had no particular desire too. All it had to do was to survive until the Northern population got fed up with the war and wanted peace.
e, A remarkable ability to improvise an industrial base - no Confederate Army ever lost a battle for want of arms, ammunition, or equipment - it was enough men that were wanting)
The Souths biggest weakness was the presence of a large slave population which had to be controlled ( keeping badly needed fighting men from fronts where they were badly missed). Slavery also discouraged European powers from getting involved - no British, French, or Prussian Government dared to support a slave state because of the problems that such a policy would have caused at Home. Russia would not help either as it was in the process of freeing its own serf/slaves, and this drew into a diplomatic friendship with the union.
This answer is getting too long. I hope that what I have written helps, and have no doubt that others will fill in gaps. Good Luck