What motivated the Union to blockade the Texas ports during the Civil War?

Question

Make it so a seventh grader could understand,
please,
and thank you :]

Answer 1

The union blockaded all Confederate ports during the War. (Texas was one of the eleven states that seceded from the Union in 1860-1861) General Winfield Scott of the Union developed this plan, known as the Anaconda Plan, to win the War. The idea was that the blockade would squeeze the "life" out of the Confederacy by stopping trade. (Get it? Squeeze like a snake around its prey) Shipping was the main way to buy and sell goods in international trade. If the Union blocked all the ports, they could stop all trade and suffocate the Confederacy.

Answer 2

The South (Confederates) were having a lot of the goods it needed for the war shipped in through Texas. If the Confederates had continued to be supplied with food, weapons and everything else they needed the outcome of the war could have been different. The Union did not want to take that chance and felt that if they cut off their supply of goods it would force the South to give up, no food to eat,no bullets or gun powder to shoot with.
The blockade did help shorten the war and by doing so it also saved a lot of lives on both sides.

Answer 3

Blockades are usually put in place to deprive the people living in the area of whatever the ships might be bringing in and also prevents shippers in the area of selling their goods. During wartime, blockades usually are placed to prevent the movement of goods that could help the enemy, so the Union probably thought (or knew) that Texas was sympathetic to the Confederate cause.

Answer 4

The Union controlled the Mississippi River. Texas is across the Mississippi from the rest of the Confederate states. Texas produced goods (like food) they needed. If they couldn't take it across the Mississippi, or out of their ports, they couldn't supply the Confederacy.

Answer 5

The American Civil War Homepage

http://sunsite.utk.edu/civil-war/warweb.html

The American Civil War Homepage gathers together in one place hypertext links to the most useful identified electronic files about the American Civil War (1861-1865).

http://history-world.org/american_civil_war.htm

Research/Informational Sites

http://www.historyplace.com/civilwar/index.html

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpcoop/nhihtml/cwnyhshome.html

http://edtech.kennesaw.edu/web/civwar.html

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAcivilwar.htm

http://www.civilwarhome.com/indexcivilwarinfo.htm

http://ap.grolier.com/article?assetid=0173280-0&templatename=/article/article.html

http://www.civil-war.net/

http://www.us-civilwar.com/

http://members.aol.com/teachernet/

http://www.refdesk.com/facthist.html