The description which best characterizes the North during the years leading up to the Civil War was industrial, urban and anti-slavery. The North had an industrial boom when the South was still living off of specific agriculture such as cotton and indigo, which were cultivated by slaves on plantations. Many cities were in the North(Boston, New York, Philadelphia), which gave it more of an urban feel compared to the small towns in the South. The North was strictly mostly anti-slavery and any African-Americans who lived up North had been freed.
According to the theory of mercantilism, a nation could increase its wealth and power in two ways. First, it could obtain as much gold and silver as possible. Second, it could establish a favorable balance of trade, in which it sold more goods than it bought. Hope this helped :)