The Northern region of America grew through becoming a region that engaged in manufacturing and selling the manufactured products. By 1860, the north produced 17 times more cotton and woolen textiles than the south, 30 times more leather goods, 20 times more pig iron, and 32 times more firearms. The North produced 3, 200 firearms to every 100 produced in the south. Northern agriculture also became more mechanized and so northern farmers began producing more agricultural products than the south who depended on slaves to do the work on the farm lands.
When he said he felt an "a sunburst of deliverance" he meant he felt a sense of freedom. As in, the war is over, I can go home, and a big stress has just been lifted off my shoulders.
