Question

Read the passage below. Then answer the question that follows using information and evidence from the text.

May 28, 1830

Chapter CXLVIII

An Act to provide for an exchange of lands with the Indians residing in any of the states or territories, and for their removal west of the river Mississippi.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, 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, and to which the Indian title has been extinguished, as he may judge necessary, 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; and to cause each of said districts to be so described by natural or artificial marks, as to be easily distinguished from every other.

What is one research question that this document could help you answer? Explain how this document could help answer that question.

Answer 1

The document assists in researching the Indian Removal Act's legal validation for relocating Native tribes and the government's rationale, as it granted presidential authority to allocate western lands and set the precedent for forced removal under the guise of federal policy.

Step-by-step explanation:

One research question that the document could help answer is: How did the Indian Removal Act of 1830 legally enable the forced relocation of Native American tribes, and what was the government's justification for this policy? This enactment provided the President of the United States the legal authority to designate land west of the Mississippi River for Native American tribes and to oversee their removal to these newly designated districts. It presents direct evidence of the federal government's role in the displacement of Native Americans and the legal framework they used to justify the removal policy. The document could be used to explore the historical context behind the Indian Removal Act, including societal beliefs about civilization and progress that President Andrew Jackson and others used to advocate for the policy, the resistance from Native American tribes such as the Cherokee, and the broader impact of such legislation on the territorial integrity of the United States.

Answer 2

The question is: under which law, the president of the united states was authorized to distribute the lands to the Indians?
The passage answers this question by quoting the proposed bill that was approved by the then senate to empower the president of the United States to do so.