Excerpt from the Dawes Act, 1877
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That in all cases where any tribe or band of Indians has been, or shall hereafter be, located upon any reservation created for their use, either by treaty stipulation or by virtue of an act of Congress or executive order setting apart the same for their use, the President of the United States be, and he hereby is, authorized, whenever in his opinion any reservation or any part thereof of such Indians is advantageous for agricultural and grazing purposes, to cause said reservation, or any part thereof, to be surveyed, or resurveyed if necessary, and to allot the lands in said reservation in severalty to any Indian located thereon in quantities as follows:
To each head of a family, one-quarter of a section;
To each single person over eighteen years of age, one-eighth of a section;
To each orphan child under eighteen years of age, one-eighth of a section; and
To each other single person under eighteen years now living, or who may be born prior to the date of the order of the President directing an allotment of the lands embraced in any reservation, one-sixteenth of a section : . . .
Sec. 10. That nothing in this act contained shall be so canstrued to affect the right and power of Congress to grant the right of way through any lands granted to an Indian, or a tribe of Indians, for railroads or other highways, or telegraph lines, for the public use, or condemn such lands to public uses, upon making just compensation.
Use the excerpt to answer the question.
What conclusion regarding U.S. policy toward Native Americans in the late 1800s does the excerpt support?
A.
The government sought to break up reservations and promote homesteading, ranching, and railroad expansion.
B.
The government sought to promote peaceful relations between reservations and nearby settlements and towns.
C.
The government sought to protect Native American land from encroachment by farmers, ranchers, and railroads.
D.
The government sought to ensure Native Americans had access to suitable land for their own farming and ranching.