Question

Read the following excerpt from Andrew Jackson's Speech on Indian Removal:

Doubtless it will be painful to leave the graves of their fathers; but what do they more than our ancestors did or than our children are now doing? To better their condition in an unknown land our forefathers left all that was dear in earthly objects. Our children by thousands yearly leave the land of their birth to seek new homes in distant regions. Does Humanity weep at these painful separations from everything, animate and inanimate, with which the young heart has become entwined? Far from it.
How does Jackson most clearly use a hasty generalization about Indian removal in this excerpt?
A. He concludes that American Indians will be saddened by leaving the land of their birth.
B. He concludes that thousands of citizens are born in the United States each year.
C. He concludes that American Indians hold the same views as whites about settling in a new land.
D. He concludes that U.S. citizens leave the land of their birth to better their conditions.

Answer 1

The correct answer is C

Answer 2

Answer: C. He concludes that American Indians hold the same views as whites about settling in a new land.

In this excerpt, Jackson discusses Indian removal. He argues that the displacement of Indigenous people is not different to the migrations of Europeans coming to America. These immigrants also say goodbye to the land of their birth, culture, family and friends, and no one wept for them.

This is an example of a hasty generalization because Jackson ignores the characteristics that make the two cases different. For example, indigenous people do not have the same ideas about migration as white settlers. Moreover, they are not migrating voluntarily, but are being forcibly removed. Finally, while settlers hoped for a better life in America, Native Americans were usually in a worse situation after removal than before.