One of the major strategies of the civil war was to fully secure its boarders. By fully blockading the Southern coast, it would to decrease the possibility of Confederate sandwiching them from the north. This is known as the Anaconda Plan. It affected the war in the North by securing it's boarders and keeping safe its citizens.The war affected the South in a crushing blow. The whole south was on fire. Properties were burnt to deter others from having a place to return.The impact of the civil war on the environment, socially speaking, created a more balanced social norm based on recognizing basic human right.