Most people in the North worked in factories or owned their own businesses. They also planted small farms or gardens to help feed their families. Without big farms to run, the people in the North did not rely on slave labor very much. In the South, the economy was based on agriculture.Click to see full answer. Likewise, what was the difference between the North and the South?The Differences between the North and South on the Eve of the Civil War. The largest difference between the North and the South was the number of free black people. The North had hardly any slaves; however the South had around 4 million slaves.Subsequently, question is, what were the important similarities and differences between the North and the South? Agriculture was the center of their economy because it made need for more slaves. Most of the Civil War was fought in the South. They wanted to expand slavery. They did not have as many factories as the North. Also Know, what were the differences between the North and South in the Civil War? A civil war is a war fought between citizens of the same country. The regions of the North and South were very different leading up to the American Civil War. In economics, the North was all about big cities and factories, whereas the South lived a farming lifestyle heavily dependent on slaves.What were three differences between north and south that caused animosity between the regions?North was a manufacturing region and its people favored tariffs that protected factory owners and workers from foreign competition. The South was agricultural and depended on the north and foreign imports for manufactured goods.