USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -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.

Detailed explanation-2: -In July 1861, the two armies were nearly equal in strength with less than 200, 000 soldiers on each side; however at the peak of troop strength in 1863, Union soldiers outnumbered Confederate soldiers by a ratio of 2 to 1. The size of Union forces in January 1863 totaled over 600, 000.

Detailed explanation-3: -The Union had many advantages over the Confederacy. The North had a larg-er population than the South. The Union also had an industrial economy, where-as the Confederacy had an economy based on agriculture. The Union had most of the natural resources, like coal, iron, and gold, and also a well-developed rail system.

Detailed explanation-4: -Food shortages throughout the south stemmed from many sources including a drought in 1862 that drove down food supplies, a reduced workforce on farms and plantations as enslaved people fled to Union lines, and Federal troops gaining control of more parts of the Confederacy.

Detailed explanation-5: -The South’s greatest strength lay in the fact that it was fighting on the defensive in its own territory. Familiar with the landscape, Southerners could harass Northern invaders. The military and political objectives of the Union were much more difficult to accomplish.