Wizard of Oz and the Populist Movement

520 Words3 Pages
Wizard of Oz/Populist Movement The populist movement started in 1890 and ended in 1896. It all started when many farmers encountered problems concerning prices. Overproduction caused prices to drop, which resulted in less profit. Equipment prices increased along with rail road prices which made the transport of everything even more difficult. However the farmers weren't the only ones who had problems. Believe it or not, the Wizard of Oz and the populist movement both have a strong connection between each other. The story of the Wizard of Oz captures many themes and concepts from the populist movement. Concepts such as bimetallism, farmers, industrialized workers, and Washington, D.C. closely relate to the famous play written by Lyman Frank Baum. Bimetallism is the use of a monetary standard consisting of two metals, especially gold and silver, in a fixed ratio of value. An example of bimetallism in the Wizard of Oz was when Dorothy walked down the yellow brick road with her ruby slippers. Dorothy herself represented the populist movement. Dorothy's slippers represented the silver standard and the yellow brick road represented the gold standard. That means Dorothy's slippers plus the yellow brick road equaled bimetallism which was what the populist party supported. As Dorothy better known as the populist movement, continued on her journey she ran into the scarecrow. The scarecrow represented all of the farmers. The farmers were the ones that led the populist movement. The main things farmers wanted was for the government to regulate the businesses and fair prices. The only thing the farmers were missing was a voice. That's why the farmers created the populist party. We see this in Wizard of Oz when Dorothy helps the scarecrow which is exactly what the populist movement is doing for the farmers. Soon after Dorothy helped scarecrow she met the tin man. In the
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