I responded that there had been a long term economic downturn (a depression) that affected the major part of the then "Midwest" extensively. The Union Army had no problem recruiting fellows from that part of the country (Indiana, Illinois and Ohio) (including all 8 of my Great Great Grandfathers, all their brothers and cousins, and 2 of my Great Grandfathers, and all their brothers and cousins) to defend the Republic.
These men all had a lot to lose, and they did not give their lives freely ~ their intention was to put down the Rebellion and open up the West. Some of the exact same people I am mentioning here had worked at Sutter's Mill BEFORE gold was discovered, some had been in the fur trade, and a number of them had started opening up new farmland in Kansas only to find themselves involved in the Jayhawk War.
Now, you tell me what your ancestors did in the War. We will then reflect on the utility of your generalized beliefs in light of that experience. You might bone up on your statistics though, so you have a better idea of what percentage of which Northern state populations engaged in the war. It's kind of startling ~ New York had draft riots for example. In Indiana just about every able bodied man went to war.