<P> Like the first industrial revolution, the second supported population growth and saw most governments protect their national economies with tariffs . Britain retained its belief in free trade throughout this period . The wide - ranging social impact of both revolutions included the remaking of the working class as new technologies appeared . The changes resulted in the creation of a larger, increasingly professional, middle class, the decline of child labor and the dramatic growth of a consumer - based, material culture . </P> <P> By 1900, the leaders in industrial production was Britain with 24% of the world total, followed by the US (19%), Germany (13%), Russia (9%) and France (7%). Europe together accounted for 62% . </P> <P> The great inventions and innovations of the Second Industrial Revolution are part of our modern life . They continued to be drivers of the economy until after WWII . Only a few major innovations occurred in the post-war era, some of which are: computers, semiconductors, the fiber optic network and the Internet, cellular telephones, combustion turbines (jet engines) and the Green Revolution . Although commercial aviation existed before WWII, it became a major industry after the war . </P> <P> New products and services were introduced which greatly increased international trade . Improvements in steam engine design and the wide availability of cheap steel meant that slow, sailing ships were replaced with faster steamship, which could handle more trade with smaller crews . The chemical industries also moved to the forefront . Britain invested less in technological research than the U.S. and Germany, which caught up . </P>

In both england and the united states the industrial revolution began in