ABSTRACT
One must always be careful not to abuse the word ‘revolution.’ Technological revolutions take longer than political revolutions, but they may have a more significant impact on society. The First Industrial Revolution ushered in the modern era of the factory and rapid technological change. Its technology steadily improved throughout the nineteenth century. Late in that century, a new series of innovations emerged that would dominate industrial society through the twentieth century. Three critical breakthroughs constitute the Second Industrial Revolution: The internal combustion engine, the harnessing of electricity, and a radical change in the understanding and application of chemistry. These developments, along with improvements in steelmaking, propelled Americans fully into an industrial age. Indeed, virtually all twentieth-century innovation depended on at least one of these three breakthroughs.
