"Be it enacted... that it shall and may be lawful for the President of the United States to cause so much of any territory belonging to the United States, west of the river Mississippi, not included in any state or organized territory... to be divided into a suitable number of districts, for the reception of such tribes or nations of Indians as may choose to exchange the lands where they now reside, and remove there." — Indian Removal Act, May 28, 1830
The Indian Removal Act was most directly designed to facilitate which goal?
- A
Granting U.S. citizenship to Native peoples
- B
Establishing a Bureau of Indian Affairs in the Cabinet
- Ccheck_circle
Relocating southeastern tribes to make their lands available for white settlement
- D
Creating reservations within existing southern states
Explanation
The Act authorized the president to negotiate the exchange of southeastern tribal lands, especially those of the Five Civilized Tribes, for territory west of the Mississippi, opening rich cotton-growing lands to white settlers.