What made America great? Ironically, some of the very things that Donald Trump promises to undo in the name of making America great again.

In the 19th century, the United States was not considered a “great power” like Great Britain, Russia, or Austria-Hungary. But somehow it beat them all to become the dominant global superpower in the second half of the 20th century – so much so that it is often called the American Century.

Historians all have their own theories about why this happened, but you can make a strong case for several factors that Trump has promised to undo if elected to a second term: a fairly open immigration system it provided a constant flow of workers and stimulated innovation; a strong, well-funded central government with a professional military and civilian function which ensured stability; and more and more a solid democracy this allowed the country to correct itself when it went astray.

Liberal critics of Trump often approach these topics in terms of values, but I’m not talking about a “shining city on a hill” in which America is a beacon of hope to the rest of the world. I mean simply that stable government, immigration, and democracy are what have made America stronger than its rivals, giving it a strong economy, a powerful military, and overall resilience.

Think about immigration. According to Trump, immigrants are depleting America’s resources and diversity is undermining the country. But in reality, immigrants are a constant stream of workers who keep the economy going and drive innovation. Immigrants, who contribute an estimated share $2.2 trillion to the economy each year, are more likely to have a higher education diploma, get a patent And start a business than native-born Americans. Just less than half of companies Fortune 500 companies in 2023 were founded by immigrants or their children, including Apple, Amazon, Google and Costco.

This is a significant advantage America has over countries less welcoming to foreigners.

Trump would weaken this advantage. He promised to deport millions of undocumented immigrants, end birthright citizenship, reinstate a travel ban on Muslim-majority countriesimplement “strong ideological selection” for immigrants, revoke temporary protection status for certain legal migrants and reduce refugee resettlement programsamong others. The end result would be an America much less friendly toward immigrants and much less likely to benefit from their presence.

But Trump wouldn’t just roll back the clock on immigration. He also seeks to return government to the 19th century.

Trump’s plan to get there easier to lay off thousands of federal employees and replacing them with loyalists would cancel the reform of 1883 which ended the spoils system and created a modern civil service, based on merit. His call to end the federal income tax and fully funding the government through tariffs would return us to the days when government revenues were unstable before the revolution. 16th amendment was ratified in 1913. And its desire for loyal military leaders he said it would undermine the now professional army that won two world wars in the 20th century.

When Trump promised to make America great again, many Republican voters thought he I meant the 1980s or maybe the 1950s. But it’s increasingly clear that he intends to take the country further than that. At a recent town hall, Trump raved about the way America was in the 1890s. “probably the richest that has ever been” (not true). His allies dream of it bring back the Comstock Act of 1873 to block access to abortion. He committed to take advantage of the Insurrection Act of 1807 send troops to American cities. And he talked about revive the Foreign Enemies Act of 1798 to speed up evictions.

Meanwhile, Trump’s attacks on the Constitution would take us back to before 1789.

Trump threatened to journalists, editors and publishers in prison who will not reveal his confidential sources; has revoke broadcast licenses for networks whose coverage it disagrees with; and even to investigate journalists for treason. He is attacked the judges in his civil and criminal trials as well as in their familieswhile saying that it should be “illegal” criticize the judges he favors. He said he would be a dictator on his first day in power, called for the repeal of the Constitution and refused to acknowledge his loss in 2020, leading to a deadly assault on the Capitol.

Again, set aside for a moment whether these attacks offend your values ​​and consider that they would also weaken America.

A country without journalists willing to share uncomfortable truths, without judges unafraid to rule against the rich and well-connected, and without politicians willing to cede power when they lose, will soon become ossified. Bad ideas will flourish and good ideas will be buried. Corruption will increase, leading to unnecessary costs and lower quality services, while businesses will stagnate. Meanwhile, mass deportations will reduce the workforce and tariffs will cause prices to skyrocket. And a military and civilian office that only cares about pleasing the president will ignore risks, cover up mistakes, and convey false strength.

If Trump wins a second term, the things that made America great in the 20th century will be undone one by one, and the American century will be over.