At the November 1989 Coinage of the Americas Conference ("America's Gold Coinage"), Walter Breen delivered a talk suggesting that L. Frank Baum's
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was an allegory or parable about the politics of bimetallism during the McKinley-Bryan presidential campaigns. For most numismatists, this was as surprising as the events of the story were to Dorothy. In fact, the theory goes back to 1964 and supports a rich literature of its own.
In this week's Esylum, I will have a couple of paragraphs on what I have found so far. I have 27 citations, 24 of them specifically about the monetary aspects. Others focus in whole or in part on other aspectes of the political debates, including the status of the Filipinos and Native Americans. (I posted a Bibliography on the Usenet Newsgroup Rec.Collecting.Coins.)
Yellow Brick Road = the Gold Standard
Oz = ounce
Tinman = Worker
Scarecrow = Farmer
Cowardly Lion = William Jennings Bryan
Wizard = McKinley (or other US President)
Emerald City = White House
Silver Slippers (in book) = power of silver money
Green glasses (in book) = illusion of paper money
Gold cap (in book) = power of gold money
Quote:
The Fourth Coinage Act was enacted by the United States Congress in 1873 and embraced the gold standard and de-monetized silver. Western mining interests and others who wanted silver in circulation years later labeled this measure the "Crime of '73". Gold became the only metallic standard in the United States.
[...]
After 1893 Western miners and wheat and cotton farmers rallied to the silver cause with the slogan the "Crime of '73". The silverite movement took control of the Democratic party in 1896 under William Jennings Bryan. The 1896 and 1900 presidential elections focused on silver and gold, with victory going both times to the champion of gold, William McKinley.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinage_Act_of_1873
Numerous scholars in history, political science and economics have asserted that the images and characters used by Baum and Denslow closely resembled political images that were well known in the 1890s. They argue that Baum and Denslow did not invent out of thin air the Lion, Tin Man, Scarecrow, Yellow Brick Road, Silver Slippers, cyclone, monkeys, Emerald City, Munchkins (little people), Uncle Henry, passenger balloons, witches and the wizard.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politic...l_Wizard_of_Oz |
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