President Andrew Jackson signs Indian Removal Act, May 28, 1830
Jackson believed the separation of whites and Indians was the only way to ensure peace and was the most humane way of dealing with the Indian problem. The law aroused great controversy and barely passed Congress by a vote of 28 to 19 in the Senate and 101 to 97 in the House of Representatives. Congressman Davy Crockett had lived among Indians his whole life and believed they should be left in peace on their lands; he called the act “a wicked, unjust measure.” After the bill was passed, the Cherokee chief sent Crockett a letter of thanks.