Why were Native Americans pushed off their land during westward expansion?

During westward expansion, Native Americans were primarily pushed off their land to facilitate the development of new settlements. As settlers moved westward in search of land for agriculture, opportunities for housing, and access to resources, there was a growing belief that the land was underutilized by Native Americans. Many settlers viewed this land as vacant and ripe for cultivation and settlement.

This expansion was often justified by the concept of Manifest Destiny, which held that it was the United States' divine right and destiny to expand across the North American continent. In this context, governmental policies frequently favored settlers over Native American tribes, leading to forced removals and the establishment of reservations. The desire for new farmland and the growth of communities were significant motivations behind these actions, underscoring how economic interests often conflicted with the rights and livelihoods of Indigenous peoples.

Other choices, while related in some way to the broader context of westward expansion, do not capture the primary motivation as clearly. For instance, while promoting trade routes might be an outcome of settlement, it was not the explicit reason for displacing Native Americans. Similarly, increasing agricultural productivity is a consequence of settlement but not the immediate cause for the displacement of Indigenous peoples. Ensuring sparser populations does not reflect the motivations of