Describe the advantages and disadvantages of the North and South as the civil war began.

As the Civil War began, each side had certain advantages and disadvantages. The North had great advantages in manpower, material, and organization. It had more than twice the population of the South, and many more factories to produce war supplies. The U.S. government had been functioning well for many decades, and the national level had sufficient powers under the Constitution to wage war effectively. The South had some advantages as well. Most Southern men …

…North used its advantages well as the war moved past the first year. It blockaded the South with a long line of ships to stop trade with Europe. It took control of the Mississippi River, thus dividing the South in two. It attacked deep into the heart of the South, winning control of large areas. With the victories at Gettysburg and Vicksburg in 1863, even many Southerners sensed that the days of the Confederacy were numbered.