How and why did the Union win the Civil War?

Though most southerners believed that they would win the war with the north, the Union was able to overtake the Confederacy in multiple ways. Some of the more significant union advantages over the Confederacy include:

• More than 22 million people resided in the north at the time of the Civil War, whereas the south only boasted about 9 million people. Additionally, only about 5.5 million of the southerners were whites.

• A steady flow of black slaves from the southern states joined with the Union Army during the course of the war. At first, the Union used these men as laborers, but later the Union also used them as fighters. The participation of black slaves fighting for their freedom was more powerful than southern state citizens fighting for their land and right to own slaves.

The Union was able to win the war because they were able to meet and defeat the Confederacy time after time. Though the south was victorious in some battles, the north showed its military might and resolve. The consistent loss of battles and loss of life demoralized the south to the point that the Confederacy was no longer able to remain committed to the cause as passionately as they could when the war began.