What led to a large population gap between the north and south? cotton plantations attracted massive amounts of workers. new factory jobs attracted millions of immigrants. large numbers of people were moving from the north to south for the warmer weather.

New factory jobs attracted millions of immigrants.

The North developed to be the factory power house of the USA, as early as colonial days.The main reason for this is becasue the physical environment of the North such as fast running rivers favored industries. This attracted more people into the area, who were looking for better opportunities.