AND THE WHIG COALITION 333 



Littleton Tazewell was elected over him. He opposed 

 an attempt which was made about this time to remove 

 William and Mary College to Richmond, and was 

 afterward made successively rector and chancellor of 

 the college, which prospered signally under his 

 management. In December, 1825, he was chosen by 

 the legislature to the governorship of Virginia, and in 

 the following year he was reflected by a unanimous 

 vote. As the strict constructionists were now becom- 

 ing gradually united in opposition to the policy of 

 President Adams, many members of Crawford's party, 

 under the lead of John Randolph, went to swell the 

 ranks of the Jacksonians, while others, among whom 

 Mr. Tyler was one of the most distinguished, main- 

 tained a certain independence in opposition. It is to 

 be set down to Mr. Tyler's credit that he never attached 

 any importance to the malicious story, believed by so 

 many Jacksonians, of a corrupt bargain between 

 Adams and Clay. A slander of somewhat similar 

 character was soon to be aimed at himself. Soon after 

 the meeting of the Virginia legislature, in December, 

 1826, the friends of Clay and Adams combined with 

 the members of the opposite party who could no 

 longer endure Randolph's crazy freaks, and thus Gov- 

 ernor Tyler was elected to the United States Senate 

 by the narrow majority of 115 votes to no. Some 

 indiscreet friends of Jackson now sought to show that 

 there must have been some secret and reprehensible 

 understanding between Tyler and Clay, but the at- 

 tempt failed utterly. It is very interesting, however, 

 to observe that Tyler owed his seat in the Senate to 

 the followers of the man with whom he was hereafter 

 to enter into such an extraordinary alliance. 



