As the election of 1828 approached, national affairs gave every indication of the end of an epoch. Those formative events, which seem to culminate regardless of the wish or will of man, indicated a great change. The determination to overthrow the Adams-Clay combination turned the election into a political revolution not unlike that of 1800. Economic conditions assumed a new aspect because of the advent of "King Cotton," and the sudden ascendency of the "lower South." The election for two consecutive terms of Calhoun to the Vice-Presidency showed that Southern leadership had passed from Virginia to South Carolina. Successful experiments with steam transportation on land predicted a revolution in the history of internal communication and, consequently, of internal improvements. The clear diplomatic horizon, the universal peace except in turbulent South America, and the successful negotiations in recent treaties foretold an era of insularity and full fruition of individuality. Political parties had been revived, but on such divergent lines that they might soon be expected to develop national policies. Fortunate would the Republic have been if such legitimate divisions had been the only lines of difference as the great middle period came on. But sectionalism had yet to run its course, commercially and territorially, before a true union of interests, ideals, and affections could be secured. END OF PART I