Excerpt from President Andrew Jackson's Message to Congress, December 6, 1830
The present policy of the Government is but a continuation of the same progressive change by a milder process. The tribes which occupied the countries now constituting the Eastern States were annihilated or have melted away to make room for the whites. The waves of population and civilization are rolling to the westward, and we now propose to acquire the countries occupied by the red men of the South and West by a fair exchange, and, at the expense of the United States, to send them to land where their existence may be prolonged and perhaps made perpetual. 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. It is rather a source of joy that our country affords scope where our young population may range unconstrained in body or in mind, developing the power and facilities of man in their highest perfection. These remove hundreds and almost thousands of miles at their own expense, purchase the lands they occupy, and support themselves at their new homes from the moment of their arrival. Can it be cruel in this Government when, by events which it can not control, the Indian is made discontented in his ancient home to purchase his lands, to give him a new and extensive territory, to pay the expense of his removal, and support him a year in his new abode? How many thousands of our own people would gladly embrace the opportunity of removing to the West on such conditions! If the offers made to the Indians were extended to them, they would be hailed with gratitude and joy.
Use the excerpt to answer the question.
Which of the following might Jackson be referring to when he says, “by events which it can not control”?
A.
the realization of “Manifest Destiny” by Americans
B.
the discovery of gold in Cherokee lands in the Southeast
C.
the acquisition of expansive lands west of the Mississippi
D.
the overfarming and overdevelopment of U.S. land in the Southeast
PLEASE, ALSO EXPLAIN WHY ITS THE CORRECT ANSWER, DO NOT GUESS, USE THE EXPERT.
A. the realization of “Manifest Destiny” by Americans.
This is the correct answer because Jackson is referring to the waves of population and civilization that are rolling to the westward, which is a reference to the idea of Manifest Destiny. He is also referring to the fact that the tribes which occupied the countries now constituting the Eastern States were either annihilated or melted away to make room for the whites, which is another reference to Manifest Destiny.