Why did people call General Scott's plan the Anaconda?

Answer 1

The anaconda plan got its name from the way an anaconda constricts its prey. Like the anaconda, the union wanted to constrict the confederacy through creating blockades and dividing their land at several points, one vital point being their capital.

Answer 2

General Winfield Scott devised a plan at the start of the Civil War and titled it "The Anaconda Plan." It was called this because it was to strangle the Confederacy by cutting off any and all contact to the outside world, mainly to Europe, much like the anaconda snake strangles it's prey. It consisted of a blockading more than 3,500 miles of Southern coast line from Virginia to Mexico. However, it was never fully put into effect, and was only looked at as a feasible option much later in the war.