Question

which part of the excerpt describes the motivation for many of the u.s. policies towards the american indians? select the correct answer. there are within the limits of the united states between two hundred and fifty and three hundred thousand indians, . . . there is not among these three hundred bands of indians one which has not suffered cruelly at the hand of the government or of white settlers. . . . there was not time for the government to make treaties; not even time for communities to make laws. it makes little difference, however, where one opens the record of the history of the indians; every page and every year has a dark stain. . . . colorado is as greedy and unjust in 1880 as was georgia in 1830, and ohio in 1795, and the united states government breaks promises now as deftly as then, and with an added ingenuity from long practice. one of the strongest supports in so doing is . . . impatience with (the native americans) presence as a “barrier to civilization . . .” the old tales of the frontier life, with its horrors of indian warfare, . . . the reports are filled with eloquent statements of wrongs done to the indians, . . . . —helen hunt jackson, century of dishonor, 1881

Explanation:

The text mentions impatience with Native Americans' presence as a "barrier to civilization" as a motivation for U.S. policies. This indicates a view that Native Americans were an obstacle to the progress and spread of what was considered 'civilization', driving policies against them.

Answer:

One of the strongest supports in so doing is . . . impatience with (the Native Americans') presence as a "barrier to civilization . . ."