Download Order to Blockade the Southern Ports

Order to Blockade the Southern Ports
Elementary School
Order to Blockade the Southern Ports
Student Activities:
Anaconda Plan/Fort Sumter: Lieutenant General Winfield Scott designed the Anaconda Plan. The plan was to
surround the South by blockading the coast and the Mississippi River. Unfortunately, he retired and his plan
was not put into operation for many years.
• Lead the students to discovering this strategy. Start by asking the students how an anaconda kills its
prey. If they don’t know, have them research it.
• Show the students a map showing the Confederate and Union States.
• Ask the students how the North could lay siege to the South.
Vocabulary: siege
UnderHisHat.org 1
Middle School
Order to Blockade the Southern Ports
Writing/Real World Application: Pose the following question to students: What orders are present in our
world today? Students create a list as a class. Discuss the importance of orders and how they are perceived.
Compare the list to the Order to Blockade the Southern Ports and their significance.
Writing: After observing and using critical thinking skills to better understand the primary source, students
will create an order of their own. This writing sample may be done as a journal, essay, or announcement.
Research: Provide students with the opportunity to work in a computer lab to gain more background
knowledge about Fort Sumter and General Winfield Scott’s “Anaconda Plan.” Information can be taken down
as notes and then shared with the whole class to improve understanding of the Order to Blockade the Southern
Ports.
Research: Students research the importance of the Union Navy in blockading ports, raiding ports, support of
the army and battles on the Mississippi. Some particular topics to explore: Monitor v. Merrimack, Fall of New
Orleans, the Battle of Vicksburg and Admiral David Farragut.
Opinion and Discussion: The attack on Fort Sumter was the start of the Civil War hostilities. Students assess
the decision by Lincoln to blockade the southern ports.
• Discuss whether this was an appropriate action or if it escalated the war to a point beyond negotiating
before the war expanded further?
• Did the decision to declare the Confederacy in a state of rebellion and begin the blockade add to the
secession of more states into the Confederacy?
• Given the loss of life by both sides in the Civil War do students think that Lincoln ever regretted his
decision?
Vocabulary: Blockade, Rebellion, Ports
UnderHisHat.org 2
High School
Order to Blockade the Southern Ports
Research and Discussion or Writing: Have students research the “Anaconda Plan” of General Winfield Scott.
Pose the following questions as a basis for discussion or extended response:
• What was the Anaconda Plan and what was its purpose?
• How does the Proclamation fit into the Anaconda plan?
• What does Lincoln hope to accomplish by “preventing entrance and exit of vessels from the ports”?
• What imports and exports were critical to the Confederacy?
• Assess the effectiveness of the Union Blockade to the war effort.
Research: While the Civil War featured massive land battles and campaigns, the Navy was instrumental to both
sides of the war. Students research the different types of vessels used during the Civil War, and explore their
purpose, armament and specialized construction. The following site might be helpful:
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/civil-war1.htm
Research: Students research the importance of the Union Navy in blockading ports, raiding ports, support of
the army and battles on the Mississippi. Some particular topics to explore: Monitor v. Merrimack, Fall of New
Orleans, the Battle of Vicksburg and Admiral David Farragut.
Opinion and Discussion: The attack on Fort Sumter was the start of the Civil War hostilities. Students assess
the decision by Lincoln to blockade the southern ports.
• Discuss whether this was an appropriate action or if it escalated the war to a point beyond negotiating
before the war expanded further?
• Did the decision to declare the Confederacy in a state of rebellion and begin the blockade add to the
secession of more states into the Confederacy?
• Given the loss of life by both sides in the Civil War do students think that Lincoln ever regretted his
decision?
•
Research and Mapping: Blockades and economic sanctions are currently accepted practice in trying to
negotiate settlements with hostile governments or governments that continue to violate their citizens’ rights.
• Students research current blockades and economic sanctions that are in effect by the United States, the
United Nations or other countries of their choice.
• Students research the issues that are the root cause of the sanctions and plot the areas of these blockades
or sanctions on a map.
UnderHisHat.org 3