If we are talking about the mid/late 1800s and early 1900s then the answer is North. At the time there were very few plantations in the North because their primary source of income was making and selling goods. While in the South they mainly focused on harvesting things like cotton, sugar, tobacco, and rice. They had only had a couple of factories. In the West, they had both farms and factories. Both were important in the West, but they mainly focused on natural resources such as coal, iron, wood/trees, and sometimes gold.
In fact, the Northeast is one of the most heavily industrialized and urbanized areas in the world. The Atlantic seaboard cities of Philadelphia, Boston, and New York City serve as international trade centers. Coal, iron ore, and oil—found mainly in Pennsylvania—fueled the industrialization of the region
The transcontinental railroad was built in the 1800s to connect Council Bluffs, Iowa, with the San Francisco Bay and revolutionize transport in the U.S.
