Anaconda Plan
The Anaconda Plan was used during the American Civil War to "squeeze" the life out of pro-slavery Southern states. General Winfield Scott proposed the plan.
Details
The plan began with blockading Southern ports. Next the Union Army would advance down the Mississippi River, cutting the South in two. Like the coils of an anaconda snake suffocating its victim, the Union Army would squeeze the South until it returned to the Union.
President Lincoln approved the plan. Some Northern generals, newspapers, and people made fun of it. After a year of bloody fighting, it was finally put into operation.
References
- 1 2 3 4 James M. McPherson, 'Lincoln and the Strategy of Unconditional Surrender', The Best American History Essays on Lincoln, eds. Sean Wilentz; Organization of American Historians (New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009), p. 215
- 1 2 Michael Lanning, Civil War 100: The Stories Behind the Most Influential Battles, People and Events in the War Between the States (Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks, 2006), p. 103
