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The Indian Removal Act, passed in 1830, gave the President of the United States the authority to negotiate treaties with Native American tribes to relocate them from their ancestral lands, primarily in the southeastern United States, to designated territories west of the Mississippi River. This act aimed to facilitate the settlement of these lands by American settlers and was justified by the belief in Manifest Destiny, the idea that Americans were destined to expand across the continent.
In practice, this led to the forced removal of thousands of Native Americans, most notably resulting in the Trail of Tears, where numerous tribes, including the Cherokee, faced harsh conditions during their relocation, leading to significant suffering and loss of life.