What was one of the consequences of the removal policies enacted during the Indian Removal Act?

The consequence of the removal policies enacted during the Indian Removal Act primarily contributed to the expansion of agricultural lands, especially in the South, which in turn bolstered the institution of slavery. The removal of Native American tribes from their ancestral lands allowed for increased cultivation of cash crops like cotton, facilitating the growth of plantations that relied heavily on enslaved labor. As settlers moved into these newly vacated territories, they established agricultural operations that reinforced the Southern economy, which was heavily dependent on slavery. This interconnection between land acquisition through removal and the rise of plantation agriculture underscores how Indian Removal directly impacted social and economic structures in the South. The other options do not accurately capture the historical consequences; for instance, Native American sovereignty was significantly undermined rather than enhanced, and Southern political power actually grew with the expansion of slave-owning territories.