What major strategic objective did the Anaconda Plan focus on during the Civil War?

The Anaconda Plan was a military strategy developed by Union General Winfield Scott during the early stages of the Civil War, with a major focus on utilizing a naval blockade. The primary objective of this plan was to suffocate the Confederacy economically by cutting off essential supplies and trade routes, thereby crippling their ability to sustain the war effort. The idea was to block Southern ports and control the Mississippi River, which would effectively isolate the Confederate states from critical resources and reinforcements.

This naval blockade aimed to prevent the South from exporting cotton and importing war materials, thus constraining their economy and limiting their capacity to fight. The name "Anaconda" reflects the strategy’s intention to slowly squeeze the life out of the Confederate forces, similar to how an anaconda snake constricts its prey. As such, the focus on the naval blockade as part of the Anaconda Plan was a crucial element that underpinned the overall Union strategy during the Civil War.