The Wizard of Oz - Olean Middle School
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Transcript The Wizard of Oz - Olean Middle School
The Wizard of Oz
A Parable of the Populist Era
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by
L. Frank Baum
Book was written in
1900 when the
Populist movement
was a relatively
current event in
American politics
The Characters
Dorothy
The Scarecrow
The farmers
The Tin Woodsman
“Every person” with
common sense
Dehumanized labor
The Cowardly Lion
Wm. Jennings Bryan
The Wicked Witch of
the West
The harsh
environment of the
Great Plains
The Wicked Witch of
the East
The eastern
industrialists and
bankers who
controlled the little
people (The
Munchkins)
Toto
The tee totaling
prohibitionists
The Good Witch
The Farmers Alliance
(The Grange)
Dorothy’s Ruby Red
Slippers
Were actually silver
slippers in the book
but in the Technicolor
film, red looked better
than silver
Silver was the
Populists solution to
the nation’s economic
problems
The Wizard
Represents any one of
the Presidents from
the Gilded Age
The Yellow Brick Road
(With all the dangers
along the way)
represented the Gold
Standard
Emerald City
Washington, D.C.
Oz
Is the abbreviation for
ounces, a reference to
the silverites who
supported free silver in
the ratio of 16 oz. of
silver to 1 oz. of gold
And as any Populist would know…
There is no place like home (steading)!
Why did the Populist Party
disappear?
Major political parties adopted ideas of the
Populists – no need for a minor party
Gold discovered in Alaska(1898) – no need for
silver
Better economic times returned for the farmers
Famine in Europe increased demand for American
products
immigration to US meant more “mouths to feed”
“Golden Age of American Agriculture” (1900-1914)
Importance of the Populist Party
Many Populist suggestions were eventually
adopted into law
Minority group can create change within
the system!!!