Olivia Kaminski

Ms. Freyvogel

13 November 2017

U.S. History

Popul(ar)ism

In 1892, a movement by farmers to increase their political party was created this is called

populism. Another term for populism is Populist Party, before this movement farmers had barely

any voice in any of the politics. One movie that relates to Populism is The Wizard of Oz. The

characters in this movie relate to Populism in some way either by representing American, nature,

or even the silver standard issue. It is amazing to see how many things are related to each other

even when you think they have no relation. These are crucial and very important ideas by

different symbols that will describe the aspects. An allegory is a story, poem, or even a picture

that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning. Throughout the paper it will be discussed and

given exact details on how people can relate and prove that this movie is an allegory can

represent American politics. The Wizard of Oz is believed to be an allegory for American

Populism in the 1890s.

When cyclone takes away Dorothy and Toto she gets placed in Oz. There she meets a

nice witch, Glinda. This nice witch gives Dorothy a very special pair of magic ruby slippers. She

was given these because she killed the Wicked Witch of the East. In the book Dorothy’s slippers

are actually silver not ruby. The slippers represent the silver standard issue which occurred in

1890s. Glinda says “You are capable of more than you know,” and this is so true for Dorothy but

especially America (Wonderful Wizard of Oz). American relates to this by knowing more than
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they think but also knowing that they can make a change and are capable of changing something

that some Americans do not believe in. Americans wanted this more because it was cheaper than

gold. Within the next couple of years the Populists thought that the federal government should

adopt inflationary monetary policy and also freely minting silver money. They would put this in

to act so they can reboot the national economy and make it better.

One main character throughout The Wizard of Oz is Dorothy. Dorothy is a young

energetic teenage girl, she lives with her Uncle Henry and Aunt Em on a prairie in Kansas.

Dorothy also has a sidekick which is her dog Toto, she loves him and she will not let him leave

her side. Throughout the movie Dorothy represents America. Especially the worker’s union and

the farmers. These people have been taken from their homes and they just want to find

somewhere like home. This goes right back the movie by when Dorothy is taken away from

home from a cyclone. Dorothy proves to be a very loyal, resourceful, and determined young

lady. These characteristics go hand in hand with the American people and values. Dorothy says

“No matter how dreary and gray our homes are, we people of flesh and blood would rather live

there than in any other country, be it ever so beautiful. There is no place like home” (Wonderful

Wizard of Oz). Dorothy is completely right there is no place in this entire world that is like

home. Dorothy begins to realize how much she misses home and is on a journey to Emerald City

to try to get home to her aunt and uncle.

Throughout the movie there has also been an important character, the cowardly lion. The

cowardly lion represents William Jennings Bryan. William Jennings Bryan was a democrat, who

is well-known for pro-silver and “Cross of Gold” Speech. He was a great speaker and was a huge

supporter of the populists and especially the famers. William Jennings Bryan was a politician

who really supported the silver movement. He was also against the gold standard, he ran in 1896
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and lost in 1896, 1900, and the 1908 elections. The cowardly lion describes himself as a coward

and really wants the Wizard of Oz to bring and give him courage. The cowardly lion said

“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying,

I will try again tomorrow” (Wonderful wizard of Oz). This quote relates to William by saying

that is takes a lot of courage to say what you believe. The cowardly lion says to try again

tomorrow and William kept trying again and again to try to win the election. The cowardly lion

and William Jennings Bryan are alike by both being heard and getting there point across. Many

people thought William acted cowardly for not supporting the United States war with Spain.

In the 1890s many things changed and one was Populism. Populism has made a huge

difference on our world and also can relate to history in more ways than one. In history there has

also been an allegory and especially through The Wizard of Oz. This is important because today

many movements and acts would be different if it were not for people in history. Populism has

made a change for many Americans but more importantly farmers. Famers faced many

challenges like overproduction of crops, prices, railroads taking advantages of farmers, and also

the bank money that farmers had to mortgage their homes. The one thing that is so interesting is

how The Wizard of Oz is an allegory to Populism. It is so cool how Populism relates to history

but especially a movie.

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Works Cited:

The Wizard of Oz. Directed by Victor Fleming, Mervyn LeRoy, King Vidor, Norman

Taurog, George Cukor, performances by Judy Garland, Jack Haley, Ray Bolge, Bert Lahr, and

Frank Morgan, Movie, 1939.