Why did the US government move Native Americans off of their land in the Southeast?

The US government forced Native Americans to move off their land in the Southeast during the 19th century as part of a policy known as Indian Removal. The US Congress passed the Indian Removal Act in 1830 which legally authorized the President to conduct treaties which exchanged Native American tribal lands in the east for lands west of the Mississippi River. The goal of this policy was to allow the US government to gain access to resources and land that were occupied by Native American tribes, while clearing out the areas and allowing white settlers to move onto the newly evacuated land. This policy ultimately resulted in the displacement of thousands of Native Americans from their traditional territories, and the establishment of a number of Indian reservations in the West.