Saaim Khan 10.16.16 Study Guide for Chapter 10 The Civil War Key Content Terms Define and explain the significance of each Key Content Term listed below. Anaconda Plan: The military plan that stated that the Union would surround the South and squeeze it to death. The four elements of this plan were to set up a naval blockade, gain control of the Mississippi, squeeze in on the South, and take the capital of the South, which was Richmond, Virginia. Emancipation Proclamation: This was an act by Lincoln, which declared that all slaves, who were residing in ?slave states? to be free. However, slaves living in Union states were not affected by this emancipation.