Similarities Between The Wizard Of Oz And The Populist Era

The book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, was always thought to be a child’s tale, a “modernized fairy tale” until Henry M. Littlefield wrote an article about how The Wizard of Oz was actually an allegory for the Populist era. Littlefield believed that each character and significant place in the book correlated with a person or place in the Populist era. L. Frank Baum wrote this children’s book as a political allegory, whether he intentionally did it we are not sure. However, the unwavering proof that there are connections between The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and the Populist era lead most people to believe that Baum was a political and social genius as he intertwined important people and places into a children’s book, masking the connection for many years.
Dorothy was one of us. She is a human with a real problem. A lot of people can relate to her as being the “Uncle Sam” of the group. Dorothy is easy to relate to and can be seen in the populist era as the human with the american dream; find a home, establish a family, and be profitable. The scarecrow represented a midwestern farmer. The Tin Woodman represented an eastern worker. The cowardly lion represented William Jennings Bryan. The people these characters represent were all of the key groups of people during the populist era. In conclusion, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was a children's tale, but with allegories to the populist era carefully disguised in light-hearted characters and a entertaining story. As Mr. West said, “You write what you know,” and what Baum knew at the time was Populism. He may have written about the Populist Era without consciously doing so, but with 18 or so different allegories, Baum definitely took certain events to help him create the story line. In all, Baum is an accidental “wizard” who managed to weave the political and economic environment into a children’s book, The Wonderful Wizard of