The Wizard of Oz as an Allegory

Published in 1890, L. Frank Baum's The Wizard of Oz is often viewed as a study of history and economic policy in the U.S. as much as it is a beloved adventure story. The book was published during the Gilded Age, a time of wealthy robber barons who amassed great fortunes and a time when the free silver movement was pitted against the gold standard. According to Barlow (p. 476), "The book can be understood as an extended allusion to the �Free Silver' movement of the 1890s. Thus the Yellow Brick Road represents the Gold Standard, Dorothy's Silver Shoes represent bimetallism, and the Cowardly Lion is William Jennings Bryan, and so on."

The Wizard of Oz also serves as a history of the Populist movement of the era, complete with references to the Prohibitionists in the name of Doroth

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