Did you know there is a very popular theory that the famous children's book, The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, is actually an allegory for the Populist Movement.
For example, it is widely believed the character of the Cowardly Lion is portraying William Jennings Bryan (famous politician and Secretary of State under Woodrow Wilson). Also-Bryan College is named after him.
Spend some time Googling the connections between Populism and this novel. There is A LOT out there for you to read/watch.
In the comments section, write 200 words describing what you learned and what you found interesting. Be sure to included at least one sentence on whether or not you think this conspiracy theory is true.
After Littlefield read the book he created an argument that most of the characters and places in Baum’s book represented real people, places, and things from the populist movement in the 1890’s. In the book, Wizard of Oz, Dorothy’s life on the farm seems to be very dark and down, a lot like the harsh life on the Plains at that time. Drought, depression, prices falling, debts, foreclosures, hard work lives in the railroads, and more all made the farmers want to stand against the government and start the populist movement. In the movie, Kansas is a dry, washed out, and lonely area. Dorothy is taken to Oz in a tornado, a symbol in the 1890s for “political upheaval and revolutionary change.” Her house lands on and kills the Wicked Witch of the East, who represented the evil bankers and the wealthy Eastern people and government. The Munchkins were under the power of the Wicked Witch of the East. The Munchkins represented the eastern workers which were led by rich leaders from the East. The Land of Oz was a magical and beautiful place, of illusion. In the North and South, people were ruled by good witches. The yellow brick road was the gold standard and the Emerald City is seen as Washington D.C. and because it is green it is also seen as money. Although there is much more to it like the ruby/silver shoes, all the main characters, plus more, Littlefield’s argument is very well explained and shown exactly how The Wizard of Oz and populist has very close ties. (262)
ReplyDeleteI do believe in Littlefields argument and superstitions and completely understand where he is coming from. I don’t know if I 100% agree with everything he says but I do understand see where his argument is coming from.
DeleteI read an article that showed how some of the ideas of people in the play and what happened on the play can relate to things that happened during the populist movement. Some of the major things that I read that I can see being related is how Dorothy shoes were not ruby but actually silver and that represented the free silver movement in 1890. The characters in the book act like people who are from that decade also and you can see this by looking at how they act and go about things in the book. They say in the article that Dorothy represented an average American farmer and the scarecrow represented self doubt. They say that these two people represented how people were not the wealthiest and not sure of what to do at the time they were living. After I read this article I can see where they are coming from and I do understand there points that they make and they could all be true but at this time I am unsure. I do believe that these ideas could be what made him write some things to help tell history but not all of them. So in conclusion I understand it but I do not believe that was the main reason it was written. (218)
ReplyDelete“The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” is an American children's novel written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W.W. Denslow. It was published by George M. Hill Company in Chicago on May 17, 1900. The famous movie was released on August 25,1939. The cast of the book and movie characters including Dorothy, Toto, Scarecrow, Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, and numerous witches with flying monkeys have been, and will be, read and watched by many children and adults. Not many would suspect, much like Humpty Dumpty, there might be a political intention for writing the novel in the first place.
ReplyDeleteThis story may have been written to represent certain people and the political, economic, and social events of America in the 1890’s. Many years after publication, academic researchers have studied the original novel, a Broadway play from 1901, the movie of 1939, and various other novels written after 1900 by Baum. They found a relationship between the images and story to the political interests of that time. Biographers report that Baum was a political activist in the 1890s with a special interest in the question of gold and silver or paper money. William Denslow was a full-time editorial cartoonist for a major daily newspaper. In the Broadway production, Baum inserted obvious references to political characters such as President Theodore Roosevelt.
Additionally, it was not unusual to find references to the book used in political cartoons such as this one by W. A. Rogers in 1906. In one cartoon, William Randolph Hearst, American businessman, newspaper publisher, is depicted as the Scarecrow stuck in his own Ooze, a play on words. It appeared in Harper's Weekly.
In 1964, educator and historian, Henry Littlefield, drew a parable between the novel and an 1890's debate regarding the form of money. In his view, the Yellow Brick Road represented the gold standard, and the Silver Shoes in the book (later Ruby Slippers in the movie) represented a political movement by a group referred to as the Silverites. They supported the silver and gold standard for trade. Littlefield also took the position that the city of Oz was named for the abbreviation for ounce (oz) in which gold and silver were measured. He made numerous arguments similar to this one to prove his point.
It is my opinion that the use of the Scarecrow to show the problems of Mr. Hearst (and the support of the silver and gold standard by the Silverites) is reading far too much into a wonderful children’s book. However, given the known political involvement of the author and illustrator, it is a possibility. (434)
Link to Harper’s Weekly cartoon of the Scarecrow Stuck In It’s Own Ooze:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fcommons%2Fe%2Fe9%2FHearst_1906_Wizard_of_Ooze.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FPolitical_interpretations_of_The_Wonderful_Wizard_of_Oz&tbnid=EMlXE4vxxiQLDM&vet=1&docid=xzQ4HV7pZaPFYM&w=720&h=922&q=scarecrow%20stuck%20in%20his%20own%20ooze&hl=en-us&source=sh%2Fx%2Fim
Link to original book cover of 1900 publication of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz:
https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8f/Wizard_oz_1900_cover.jpg/220pxWizard_oz_1900_cover.jpg&imgrefurl=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wonderful_Wizard_of_Oz&docid=VI5jEmqJMFBsRM&tbnid=SzCv98w55qw-M:&vet=1&w=220&h=271&source=sh/x/im
In 1964 Henry Littlefield wrote a thesis that stated the book was an allegory of politics. Here are some of the things Henry thought translated into politics. The fact that Dorothy lived on a farm represents depression poverty, prices falling. Also she was taken to the place by a tornado which represented upheaval and revolutionary change, the fact that she lands and kills the wicked witch of the east represents the evil bankers and the wealthy eastern establishment. For instance the Munchkins represent the laborers under the control of the rich industry leaders. The populists preferred silver coinage rather than gold because it created larger money supply and would loosen credit. I can see how his argument is valid but I think it was just a story to bring people the fun of reading and watching a movie. ( 201)
ReplyDeleteIn 1900 “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was published by L. Frank Baum, while it was a children's book, it and the characters could have been used for political propaganda. While Baum was a populist he nor his family claimed that the story was anything but fantasy. He claimed he got the name OZ from a file cabinet drawer. In the book dorothy's life on the farm in dark and dreary, like the hard life on the plains during this time. Dorothy is taken to Oz by a tornado, which is a common symbol in the 1890s for political upheavel and revolutionary change. When her house lands it kills the wicked witch of the east, who represents the evil bankers and the wealthy eastern establishment. The tin man represents the hard worker. The scarecrow represents the stupidity of farmers who were once enlightened, and capable; but stood powerless in the face of industrialization. The cowardly lion represented politicians who were “all bark and no bite” . The Wicked Witch of The West represented the railroads or mother nature. The monkeys (the witches “henchmen”) represented the indians, both cruel and savage but easily swayed. The wizard of emerald city represents any president from Grant to Mckinely, powerless. (205)
ReplyDeleteWhen the Populist Party met in 1896 to decide whether or not to endorse William Jennings Bryan, many delegates, particularly from the South, were opposed. One of the main arguments of opponents of endorsement was that Bryan had only adopted one of the Populist's proposed economic reforms and the one he had "stolen", unlimited coinage of silver, was one of their more minor economic reforms. Most Populists believed that their most important proposed economic reform was the SubTreasury Plan. The biggest problem for western and southern farmers was the extremely low prices for wheat and cotton. The SubTreasury Plan would allow them to store their crops in government warehouses and get government loans while they held their crops off the market during harvest season. They hoped this would enable them to sell their crops at higher prices in the winter, spring and summer. No such reform was in Party Platform of Bryan's Democratic Party. I would say that Baum was trying to make the point that it was foolish, and would change nothing, to pin all your hopes on the gimmick of inflating the currency and trying to artificially raise the price of crops. (204)
ReplyDeleteIn 1900, "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" was released into bookstores everywhere. The book was written by L. Frank Baum. The characters in the book definitely could have been used for propaganda purposes, Baum said that the book was anything but fantasy. A couple things that the book shows, 1) Dorothy being on the farm was trying to show how it was during the Great Depression. It showed how things were for people that didn't have the money, and especially that those who didn't have jobs and money had nothing. As many people know, Dorothy got taken up by a tornado, this shows how the politics at the time were in uproar and uncontrollable really. The government at this time was very unstable, we were at a time of some "lacking" presidents, and the government was just a crazy place, and an even crazier place to work. Another big one is the scarecrow, he is a representation of self doubt, which I think is a struggle that a lot of people have. A lot of people have the thoughts that they can't do it, or that they aren't enough, which of course isn't true. The book overall has a bunch of hidden messages that are major things in our lives.(210)
ReplyDeleteIn 1964 Henry Littlefield, wrote an article about his discovery of the similarities between populism and “The Wizard of Oz”. Littlefield interpreted things like dorothy's silver slippers representing the late 1890s free silver movement. The scarecrow represents the American farmers. The Munchkins as union workers. the Wicked Witch of the East as robber barons. The Tin Man as urban industrial workers. Many people have different opinions on which character stands for what but everyone seems to have it figured out. L. Frank Baum said that this book was written for children but many think that this statement isn’t true. All of these characters and concepts could just be for kids. A goofy scarecrow could just be brainless and have no direction. The Land of Oz represents Washington, D.C. , a place people go to have their wishes granted. The work Oz itself is noticeably an abbreviation for ounces which is what they weigh Gold and silver in. I myself do not know if I believe one side of the other. Both sides of this theory could be true. “At the end of the story, the Scarecrow supplants the Wizard as the ruler of Emerald City, the Tin Woodman is made master of the West, and the Lion is placed over the animals of the forest. Dorothy transports herself back to Kansas by clicking her silver shoes together three times. All this is achieved with the help of Glinda, the Good Witch of the South. The message? Populism is triumphant, the goal of gaining political power is achieved” This quote has me on more of the populism theory but in reality i think that anyone can make an analogy out of anything. (281)
ReplyDeleteFrank Baum’s the wonderful wizard of Oz is classic movie that may be laced with subliminal messages and propaganda. The first to introduce this idea was Henry Littlefield, a Columbia University-trained historian in 1954. He published an article in the American Quarterly titled “The Wizard of Oz: Parable on Populism.”he stayed the wizard of Oz was a metaphor for populism and a satire of the complicated national debates over monetary policy. In the article he he explained he depicted how many characters and inportant pieces were representive of something bigger. Such an example is the ruby shoes. The ruby shoes were symphonic of the late 1890s free silver movement which was thought to bring hope to the acetate American of whom in this case is Dorothy. The scare crow also happens to be a major allegory. The self doubting scare crow is representive of the American farmer (who made up the bulk of the Populist Party) since at that time Kansas populists farmers were thought upon as dumb and irrational. As previously mentioned above in the instructions the cowardly lion was of course an elaborate form of mud slinging upon William Jennings Bryan. I found this research pretty interesting Becuase I’ve lioked into and heard about some more abstract forms of symbolism in association with the CIA’s project MK ultra(project monarch), but I found the fact that it also had an analogy to the current political movements and elections at the time very interesting. As well as a good reminder of how media and everything else is used to influence one.
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