In President Donald Trump's idealized framing, the United States was at its zenith in the 1890s, when top hats and shirtwaists were fashionable and typhoid fever often killed more soldiers than combat.

The desire to recreate the Gilded Age is fueled by Trump’s fondness for tariffs. It’s also why he praises the nation’s 25th president, William McKinley, a Republican who was in office from 1897 until being assassinated in 1901.

In President Donald Trump's idealized framing, the United States was at its zenith in the 1890s, when top hats and shirtwaists were fashionable and typhoid fever often

The Gilded Age was the era in the late 19th century when business and industry dominated American life as never before or since. It was a period of unprecedented economic growth and technological progress,

It was a time of rapid population growth and transformation from an agricultural economy toward a sprawling industrial system, in which poverty was widespread while barons of phenomenal wealth held tremendous sway over politicians who often helped further grow their financial empires.