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Difficulty: MediumCivil War Military Mobilization and Strategy

> "We rely greatly on the sure operation of a complete blockade of the Atlantic and Gulf ports so as to prevent the egress of cotton and the ingress of foreign munitions and arms... [We will then] move a clear path down the Mississippi River to the Gulf... so as to envelope the insurgent States and bring them to submission with less bloodshed than by any other plan."
>
> — General Winfield Scott, letter to Major General George B. McClellan, May 3, 1861

Which of the following best explains the primary purpose of the Union military strategy described in the excerpt?

  1. A
    To enforce the Monroe Doctrine by preventing Britain and France from establishing new colonies in North America.
  2. B
    To force the Southern states to pay federal tariffs that they had nullified prior to secession.
  3. To isolate the Confederacy economically and militarily by restricting its global trade and dividing its territory.Answer
  4. D
    To secure control of western territories so that popular sovereignty could be established in Kansas and Nebraska.

Answer

The primary purpose of the Union strategy was to isolate the Confederacy economically and militarily by restricting its global trade and dividing its territory.
The correct answer is correct because the Anaconda Plan, proposed by General Winfield Scott, sought to wrap around the Confederacy like a snake. The blockade of Southern ports was designed to prevent the Confederacy from exporting cotton to Europe and importing weapons, while control of the Mississippi River would split the Confederacy in two, severely limiting its ability to mobilize and sustain military operations.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the stimulus to identify the military strategy described.
The excerpt describes a blockade of Atlantic/Gulf ports and control of the Mississippi River, which refers to the Union's Anaconda Plan.
Understanding the specific strategy is necessary to determine its purpose.
2
Evaluate the goals of the Anaconda Plan.
The plan aimed to strangle the Confederacy by blocking imports/exports (especially cotton and arms) and splitting the South along the Mississippi River.
This aligns with the objective of economic and military isolation.
3
Eliminate incorrect options based on historical accuracy.
Other options misinterpret the causes of the war (tariffs), conflate it with the Monroe Doctrine, or misapply pre-war political debates (popular sovereignty).
Verifying the distractors ensures the chosen answer is the only historically valid option.

Key Concept

The Anaconda Plan and Union military strategy during the Civil War.
Estimated Time:1m 30s
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Topics

Civil War Military Mobilization and Strategy

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