How did the 1983 merger end the North-South split among U.S. Presbyterians?

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Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) First Presbyterian Church, Johnstown, N.Y.

The 1983 merger ended the long-standing North-South split among U.S. Presbyterians by uniting the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., which was headquartered in New York City, with the Presbyterian Church in the United States, which was based in Atlanta.1

This division had persisted since the American Civil War, when Southern Presbyterians seceded to form their own denomination. While previous attempts at reunification in the 1950s failed due to the Southern church's resistance to the centralization of power, a new movement for union emerged in the late 1970s. This effort successfully culminated in the 1983 merger, creating the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).1