Because it was a union stronghold in the confederate states.
It was Abraham Lincoln’s choice, but John Todd Stuart (fellow politician and attorney) strongly influenced him to make the decision
Alexander the Great didn't conquer Italy. Neither did he conquer China.
Alexander the Great was the leader of the hellenistic period in Greece and contributed to the creation of one of the greatest empires at the time which was spanning all around from the Greek peninsula all the way to Mesopotamia.
The southern economy remained largely agricultural mainly due to agriculture's importance to the colonies as a trade export (especially cotton, tobacco, and other cash crops).
