Was cancelled because last week is past tense so was cancelled would be the past tense
The "great packing machine" refers to the slaughter industry the author describes through the book. He is trying to portrait and denounce the unhealthy, dangerous, almost-enslavement condition the workers suffer in that industry.
The Indian Removal Act was signed on May 28, 1830. The law authorized the president to negotiate with southern Native American tribes for their removal to federal territory west of the Mississippi River in exchange for their lands.
I don't see what you're really asking here?
