Gilded Age and Progressive Period comparison, and possible essay sub-topics, Chart.

The Gilded Age

Social Darwinists
rugged individualists
immigrant ghettos
indulgences
laissez-faire capitalism
natural law of competition
combinations
exploitation
child labor
strike breaking
(un) skilled labor
self-made men
Yankee ingenuity
party machine
ward captains/bosses
patronage
expansionists
Jingoists/imperialists
yellow journalists
congressional rule

The Progressives

The Social Gospel
social responsibility
settlement houses
temperance/prohibtion
government intervention
government regulation
trust-busting
conservation
government restrictions
collective bargaining
technicians
professionals
experts
democratic reforms
civil servants
merit system
isolationists
anti-imperialists
muckrakers
strong presidents