GMAT Reading Comprehension

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Source: GWD

Level: 3

In its 1903 decision in the case of Lone Wolf v. Hitchcock, the United States Supreme Court rejected the efforts of three Native American tribes to prevent the opening of tribal lands to non-Indian settlement without tribal consent. In his study of the Lone Wolf case, Blue Clark properly emphasizes the Court's assertion of a virtually unlimited unilateral power of Congress (the House of Representatives and the Senate) over Native American affairs. But he fails to note the decision's more far-reaching impact: shortly after Lone Wolf, the federal government totally abandoned negotiation and execution of formal written agreements with Indian tribes as a prerequisite for the implementation of federal Indian policy. Many commentators believe that this change ad already occurred in 1871 when - following a dispute between the House and the Senate over which chamber should enjoy primacy in Indian affairs - Congress abolished the making of treaties with Native American tribes. But in reality the federal government continued to negotiate formal tribal agreements past the turn of the century, treating these documents not as treaties with sovereign nations requiring ratification by the Senate but simply as legislation to be passed by both houses of Congress. The Lone Wolf decision ended this era of formal negotiation and finally did away with what had increasingly become the empty formality of obtaining tribal consent.

Question List: 1 2 3 4 5

As an element in the argument presented by the author of the passage, the reference to Blue Clark's study of the Lone Wolf case serves primarily to

  • A point out that this episode in Native American history has received inadequate attention from scholars
  • B support the contention of the author of the passage that the Lone Wolf decision had a greater long-term impact than did the congressional action of 1871
  • C challenge the validity of the Supreme Court's decision confirming the unlimited unilateral power of Congress in Native American affairs
  • D refute the argument of commentators who regard the congressional action of 1871 as the end of the era of formal negotiation between the federal government and Native American tribes
  • E introduce a view about the Lone Wolf decision that the author will expand upon

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