[KosmicKitty]

Dorothy, in the book, had silver slippers, not ruby.

[Bratch]

Money and politics in the land of Oz
The extraordinary story behind the extraordinary story of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz"
 

by Quentin P.Taylor, Professor of history, Rogers State College

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Editor's Note: Here is the extraordinary story behind the extraordinary story of 'TheWonderful Wizard of Oz'.  Most of us have seen the movie version of this allegorical tale, but few of us are aware of what the various characters, places and things represented in the mind of Frank Baum, the tale's author. Professor Quentin Taylor of Rogers State University invitingly titles the piece presented below 'Money and Politics in the Land of Oz'.  Though 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz' was written over 100 years ago, the themes will be recongizable to those with an interest in golden matters. While many today consider gold an instrument of financial and personal freedom, in Baum's tale, it is painted as a villain -- the tool of oppression. So, as you are about to see, we have come full circle, and gold has travelled a yellow brick road of its own. Happy reading. - Michael Kosares

Abstract: L. Frank Baum claimed to have written The Wonderful Wizard of Oz "solely to pleasure the children" of his day, but scholars have found enough parallels between Dorothy's yellow-brick odyssey and the politics of 1890s Populism to suggest otherwise. Did Baum intend to pen a subtle political satire on monetary reform or merely an entertaining fantasy?

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