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L. Frank Baum, author of The Wizard of Oz was interested in politics in the late 19th Century, and his famous story appears to contain many references to the politics and economics of the day. For example, in the book, Dorothy's magical shoes are silver, the brick road is yellow (gold) Here are just a few references, which I have listed in chronological order. Henry M. Littlefield, "The Wizard of Oz: Parable on Populism", American Quarterly, vol. 16, no. 1 (Spring, 1964), pp. 47-58. [PDF file from J-STOR; available only from within Union College; here is on online version of this paper, annotated by a high school student; visited January 12, 2001.] Hugh Rockoff, "The 'Wizard of Oz' as Monetary Allegory," The Journal of Political Economy, vol. 98, no. 4 (August, 1990), pp. 739-760. [PDF file from J-STOR; available only from within Union College.] David B. Parker, "The Rise and Fall of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz as a 'Parable on Populism' ", Journal of the Georgia Association of Historians, vol. 15 (1994), pp. 49-63. [Here is a second source, from Parker's web site.] Grant Wang and Dan Jacobs, "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: An Examination of the Underlying Political Allegory," (high school web project, last updated January 24, 1997) Tim Ziaukas, "100 Years of Oz: Baum's 'Wizard of Oz' as Gilded Age public relations," Published in Public Relations Quarterly, Fall 1998. (visited January 12, 2001) Adam Zoll, "Did the Presidential Elections in 1896 Inspire a Fairy Tale?" Britannica.com, (June 7, 2000; visited January 12, 2001). Mark Lovewell, Understanding Economics: A Contemporary Persepctive (2000); Sideline: "The Yellow Brick Road: The Economics Behind the Wizard of Oz". (Web site promoting introductory textbook; visited January 12, 2001). Peter Dreier, "Over the Rainbow: Once upon a time, The Wizard of Oz, was a populist fable" (Web site, undated, visited February 12, 2001). Robert F. Mulligan, "The Wizard of Oz as a Monetary Allegory." (Web page, undated, with brief introduction to the allegory, based on Rockoff article, above. Visited February 12, 2001.) [Note: a web search for "Oz" plus "Rockoff" or "Oz" plus "bimetalism" generates hits for a number of economics sites that have used this allegory in class.] AND OF COURSE, THERE ARE PLENTY OF OZ SITES: |
