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<p>[QUOTE="cwtokenman, post: 629599, member: 2100"]Ah, I found it. Interesting story, and one with direct ties to Bryan Money. I had written it to someone else prior, so some of the info may be old hat.</p><p><br /></p><p>The movie changed a few things from the book, but in general, it was reasonably close. The name was originally The Wonderful World of Oz, and was later changed to the Wizard of Oz. It was written by L. Frank Baum and first published on August 1, 1900, and was reprinted twice by that November. The movie was produced in 1939.</p><p><br /></p><p> </p><p>First, I will lay out a little background to give a feel for the time of when the story was written. The story allegorizes the silver and gold issues of the 1890s. The United</p><p>States was having severe financial struggles during that time. At that time, the government was required to have gold backing for all of the paper money that was printed. The government had printed all of the paper money that they had gold backing for, so they had to halt printing additional money. This was causing a great disruption in financial circles, and hard economic times fell upon the nation. During the presidential elections of 1896 and 1900, William Jennings Bryan was running against William McKinley (Bryan lost both times). </p><p><br /></p><p> </p><p><br /></p><p>Bryan's main platform was to allow silver to also be used as backing for paper money so that the U.S. government could resume printing paper money and come to the rescue of the national economy. The government had large reserves of silver on hand. Bryan also wanted private citizens to be able to bring silver bullion to the government and have the mint turn it into coinage for those citizens, all for free. The term applied to that proposal was "free silver".</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>To continue with a bit more background:</p><p>In the wake of the Panic of 1893 was the upcoming presidential campaign. Farm prices collapsed, banks failed, unemployment was at 20%, and the economy was stalled. The</p><p>protectionists wanted high tariffs to keep out foreign goods and to create jobs in the United States.</p><p><br /></p><p>The Populist party's remedy was to substantially increase the money supply by adopting a dual metal (both gold and silver) standard. Vast reserves of silver were both already</p><p>on deposit, as well as huge reserves waiting to be mined. The working man supported this addition of silver. The rich and influential people did not support it as they were</p><p>benefitting by taking advantage of the financial woes of the poor. These issues polarized the people of the West and South on one side, against the wealthier people of the Northeast. Essentially, it was farmer against industrialist, the well-to-do against the lower economic classes.</p><p><br /></p><p>A little more about the author:</p><p>The background of L. Frank Baum was a good foundation for his money allegory. In New York, in 1856, he wrote and produced a play that made it to Broadway. In 1882, he married a daughter of a leading suffragette, Matilda Joslyn Gage. (Women's suffrage was about women obtaining the right to vote.) He and his family moved to South Dakota. There he saw the hard, rugged life of rural America.</p><p><br /></p><p>He was unsuccessful in many endeavors, one of which was a small newspaper named the Western Investor. In 1890 he and his family moved to Chicago where he became acquainted with writers, press people, and politics. Chicago was the site of the Democratic National Convention of 1896. Baum was a supporter of silver and distrusted the powers of big business and money in the Northeast.</p><p><br /></p><p>Now, into the story:</p><p>To summarize, the story begins in Kansas. Dorothy represents a young, honest, average, rural American citizen. She was probably modeled after the popular orator Leslie Kelsey who was known as the Kansas Tornado. Her best friend was her dog, Toto, who represents the Phohibition Party. Dorothy's home was taken by a cyclone (the free silver movement) to the land of Oz (abbreviation for ounce of gold). Dorothy's house lands on the Wicked Witch of the East (eastern financial powers). The witch dries up and leaves her silver shoes. Note that in the color movie version, the shoes were changed to ruby red.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Dorothy sets out on the yellow (gold) brick road to the Emerald (green - color of U.S. money) City. The city was ruled by the Wizard of Oz (gold ounce, Marcus Hanna the wizard of banking). Along the way, Dorothy meets the Scarecrow (the western farmer). The Scarecrow said he had no brains because his head is stuffed with straw. They came upon the Tin Woodman (the American factory worker) who said he had no heart because he was cursed by the Wicked Witch of the East. They are then joined by the Cowardly Lion (William Jennings Bryan). He was cowardly because there was a fear Bryan would put other issues ahead of silver for the 1900 Election. It was a reference to Bryan not being able to change the opinions of the Northeast workers. The cast of characters continues to the Emerald city. This represented a group of unemployed workers, led by Jacob Coxey (Coxey's Army), on a march to Washington, D.C., in 1894, demanding the printing of five hundred million greenbacks.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Along the way, each character was challenged. When our party reached the Emerald City they were told to wear green glasses held with a gold buckle (money colored glasses). They were taken to the Emerald Palace (The White House - the U.S. Capitol). There were seven passages and three flights of stairs (Crime of 1873). When it was discovered that the witches and wizards were fakes, all was wonderful in a new bimetallic world.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Time for a Crime of 1873 background break:</p><p>The passages and stairs are a reference to the "Crime of 1873", which was one of the earliest precursors to the financial issues of 1896. A good explanation would be quite</p><p>lengthy, so, to put it shortly, the crime was a bill that slipped through the U.S. Congress which did not state demonetization of silver. It appeared to be a direction of</p><p>minting measures and procedures. The "crime" was the omission of the standard silver dollar, and whether intentional or not, dictated the U.S. money to have only gold as a</p><p>metal standard. </p><p><br /></p><p>A five year long depression started in 1873. Silver interests urged a return to bimetallism, but President Hayes managed to accumulate enough gold in the Treasury to restore confidence in the paper greenbacks, and the economy gradually improved.</p><p><br /></p><p>Hard times came again, culminating in 1884 as a result of the industrial revolution. Hundreds of thousands of workers were replaced by machines. The average single machine could replace 20 workers.</p><p><br /></p><p>Then, in 1890, the Sherman Silver Purchase Act called for issuance of Treasury Notes, but did so without restoring the silver dollar to a coequal bimetallic standard. This led</p><p>to more deflation as the Panic of 1893 approached.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Each character was shown he had the qualities he thought he didn't possess. The Scarecrow shows his intelligence despite believing he has no brains; the Tin Woodsman shows how kind he really is; and the Cowardly Lion proves how brave he is.</p><p><br /></p><p>Note the Wizard calling Kansas the land of E. Pluribus Unum (a motto used on U.S. coinage). Yellow Winkies is a reference to the Republican administration's capture of the</p><p>Philippines from Spain and its refusal to grant them independence. Munchkins were the simple minded people of the East who did not understand financial issues.</p><p><br /></p><p>Dorothy and Toto could return home. Scarecrow was able to understand the financial issues at hand. Tin Woodsman was given a new tool, the bimetallic ax (golden ax with a silver blade). The Cowardly Lion proved his primary goal was the silver issue. He did not forgo the silver issue for the anti-imperialism movement. There are other references to</p><p>the gold and silver issue as well, all of which point to the conclusion that the Wizard of Oz is a story woven from the fabric of the 1890s economy.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="cwtokenman, post: 629599, member: 2100"]Ah, I found it. Interesting story, and one with direct ties to Bryan Money. I had written it to someone else prior, so some of the info may be old hat. The movie changed a few things from the book, but in general, it was reasonably close. The name was originally The Wonderful World of Oz, and was later changed to the Wizard of Oz. It was written by L. Frank Baum and first published on August 1, 1900, and was reprinted twice by that November. The movie was produced in 1939. First, I will lay out a little background to give a feel for the time of when the story was written. The story allegorizes the silver and gold issues of the 1890s. The United States was having severe financial struggles during that time. At that time, the government was required to have gold backing for all of the paper money that was printed. The government had printed all of the paper money that they had gold backing for, so they had to halt printing additional money. This was causing a great disruption in financial circles, and hard economic times fell upon the nation. During the presidential elections of 1896 and 1900, William Jennings Bryan was running against William McKinley (Bryan lost both times). Bryan's main platform was to allow silver to also be used as backing for paper money so that the U.S. government could resume printing paper money and come to the rescue of the national economy. The government had large reserves of silver on hand. Bryan also wanted private citizens to be able to bring silver bullion to the government and have the mint turn it into coinage for those citizens, all for free. The term applied to that proposal was "free silver". To continue with a bit more background: In the wake of the Panic of 1893 was the upcoming presidential campaign. Farm prices collapsed, banks failed, unemployment was at 20%, and the economy was stalled. The protectionists wanted high tariffs to keep out foreign goods and to create jobs in the United States. The Populist party's remedy was to substantially increase the money supply by adopting a dual metal (both gold and silver) standard. Vast reserves of silver were both already on deposit, as well as huge reserves waiting to be mined. The working man supported this addition of silver. The rich and influential people did not support it as they were benefitting by taking advantage of the financial woes of the poor. These issues polarized the people of the West and South on one side, against the wealthier people of the Northeast. Essentially, it was farmer against industrialist, the well-to-do against the lower economic classes. A little more about the author: The background of L. Frank Baum was a good foundation for his money allegory. In New York, in 1856, he wrote and produced a play that made it to Broadway. In 1882, he married a daughter of a leading suffragette, Matilda Joslyn Gage. (Women's suffrage was about women obtaining the right to vote.) He and his family moved to South Dakota. There he saw the hard, rugged life of rural America. He was unsuccessful in many endeavors, one of which was a small newspaper named the Western Investor. In 1890 he and his family moved to Chicago where he became acquainted with writers, press people, and politics. Chicago was the site of the Democratic National Convention of 1896. Baum was a supporter of silver and distrusted the powers of big business and money in the Northeast. Now, into the story: To summarize, the story begins in Kansas. Dorothy represents a young, honest, average, rural American citizen. She was probably modeled after the popular orator Leslie Kelsey who was known as the Kansas Tornado. Her best friend was her dog, Toto, who represents the Phohibition Party. Dorothy's home was taken by a cyclone (the free silver movement) to the land of Oz (abbreviation for ounce of gold). Dorothy's house lands on the Wicked Witch of the East (eastern financial powers). The witch dries up and leaves her silver shoes. Note that in the color movie version, the shoes were changed to ruby red. Dorothy sets out on the yellow (gold) brick road to the Emerald (green - color of U.S. money) City. The city was ruled by the Wizard of Oz (gold ounce, Marcus Hanna the wizard of banking). Along the way, Dorothy meets the Scarecrow (the western farmer). The Scarecrow said he had no brains because his head is stuffed with straw. They came upon the Tin Woodman (the American factory worker) who said he had no heart because he was cursed by the Wicked Witch of the East. They are then joined by the Cowardly Lion (William Jennings Bryan). He was cowardly because there was a fear Bryan would put other issues ahead of silver for the 1900 Election. It was a reference to Bryan not being able to change the opinions of the Northeast workers. The cast of characters continues to the Emerald city. This represented a group of unemployed workers, led by Jacob Coxey (Coxey's Army), on a march to Washington, D.C., in 1894, demanding the printing of five hundred million greenbacks. Along the way, each character was challenged. When our party reached the Emerald City they were told to wear green glasses held with a gold buckle (money colored glasses). They were taken to the Emerald Palace (The White House - the U.S. Capitol). There were seven passages and three flights of stairs (Crime of 1873). When it was discovered that the witches and wizards were fakes, all was wonderful in a new bimetallic world. Time for a Crime of 1873 background break: The passages and stairs are a reference to the "Crime of 1873", which was one of the earliest precursors to the financial issues of 1896. A good explanation would be quite lengthy, so, to put it shortly, the crime was a bill that slipped through the U.S. Congress which did not state demonetization of silver. It appeared to be a direction of minting measures and procedures. The "crime" was the omission of the standard silver dollar, and whether intentional or not, dictated the U.S. money to have only gold as a metal standard. A five year long depression started in 1873. Silver interests urged a return to bimetallism, but President Hayes managed to accumulate enough gold in the Treasury to restore confidence in the paper greenbacks, and the economy gradually improved. Hard times came again, culminating in 1884 as a result of the industrial revolution. Hundreds of thousands of workers were replaced by machines. The average single machine could replace 20 workers. Then, in 1890, the Sherman Silver Purchase Act called for issuance of Treasury Notes, but did so without restoring the silver dollar to a coequal bimetallic standard. This led to more deflation as the Panic of 1893 approached. Each character was shown he had the qualities he thought he didn't possess. The Scarecrow shows his intelligence despite believing he has no brains; the Tin Woodsman shows how kind he really is; and the Cowardly Lion proves how brave he is. Note the Wizard calling Kansas the land of E. Pluribus Unum (a motto used on U.S. coinage). Yellow Winkies is a reference to the Republican administration's capture of the Philippines from Spain and its refusal to grant them independence. Munchkins were the simple minded people of the East who did not understand financial issues. Dorothy and Toto could return home. Scarecrow was able to understand the financial issues at hand. Tin Woodsman was given a new tool, the bimetallic ax (golden ax with a silver blade). The Cowardly Lion proved his primary goal was the silver issue. He did not forgo the silver issue for the anti-imperialism movement. There are other references to the gold and silver issue as well, all of which point to the conclusion that the Wizard of Oz is a story woven from the fabric of the 1890s economy.[/QUOTE]
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