| The Industrial Revolution refers to the period in the mid | | | | 1860 when Jean Joseph Etienne Lenoir produced his |
| 1700's in which significant advancements were made in | | | | famous gas-fired internal combustion engine. This |
| the application of our technological knowledge and | | | | engine type is still by far the most popular type used in |
| discoveries. It signaled a transition from an economy | | | | the world today. |
| based on manual labor in agriculture to an economy | | | | The automotive industry played a major role in the |
| dominated by industry and machine manufacturing. The | | | | creation of wealth and the refinement of certain |
| first industrial revolution had a profound impact on | | | | technologies. The assembly line production model was |
| modern society. Although there is some debate | | | | first employed during this period. While more and more |
| surrounding the origins of the movement, most agree | | | | people left the farm for the factory, their opportunities |
| that it began in Britain with the invention of the steam | | | | for upward social mobility increased. People had more |
| engine. | | | | work and more money, and this led to an overall |
| The steam engine was powered by the burning of | | | | increase in the general wealth of the populace. |
| coal, which boiled water, and created pressurized | | | | Naturally, the automotive became a symbol of one's |
| steam. This pressurized steam was used to power | | | | wealth and social standing. These technological |
| industrial machinery, primarily used in the manufacture | | | | advances precipitated some enormous changes in |
| of textiles. The second industrial revolution merged with | | | | society. |
| the first industrial revolution sometime around 1850, | | | | The ideas developed and realized in Western Europe |
| when the benefits of the first phase became fully | | | | and America, spread throughout the world bringing |
| realized. The second industrial revolution was a direct | | | | immense social change. The industrial revolution played |
| product of the wealth and technological advancements | | | | a central role in the establishment of modern city |
| created by the first phase. | | | | centers. This was due mainly to the influx of agricultural |
| This particular era of the industrial revolution is | | | | workers into the areas in which the factories were |
| characterized by the development of steam powered | | | | being built. The industrial revolution also had a profound |
| railways and ships. In the early 1900's, the internal | | | | impact on the legal system of many nations, as |
| combustion engine began to be used en masse. | | | | legislation to establish the rights of workers was |
| Although the notion of a combustion engine had been | | | | introduced. Modern life would be very different today |
| imagined for some time, it was not fully realized until | | | | were it not for the industrial revolution. |