Each thought that the other really didn't want to fight and would not produce good soldiers. The North had most of the professional army and thought that the Confederate forces, made up mostly of untrained militia, would be easily broken on the battlefield. The Southerners tended to think that, "Gentlemen always fight better than rabble," and, "One Southerner can lick twenty Yankees." They both found out, to their great regret, that they were horribly wrong. Answer The South had anticipated they could quickly gain the upper hand by cutting off the North from their cotton production. Without the cotton, New England textile mills would have no work, and the North would not have any cotton related materials to trade with Britain or France. By removing this export, the South figured the could topple their economy. If the North were laying people off and loosing money, they would have less to invest into the war. This plan, however, did not work out. The North came up with the Anaconda plan which basically cut the South off from trading. The South also believed they had the upper hand by fighting on their own land, and having the best generals. The North had the money, a better trained military, and the means to produce more war related materials.