There is a popular theory that L. Frank Baum decided to use to the name ‘Oz’ because he looked at his cabinets one day and saw one was marked A-N and the other was marked O-Z (Oz). But with everything that there is in the story to compare with the historical and social events of Baum’s day, the idea of coincidental comparisons is completely too simple and, to put it plainly, rubbish. A man by the name of Henry Littlefield interpreted The Wizard of Oz to be about the Populist movement in his 1964 publication of “The Wizard of Oz: Parable of Populism” in American Quarterly.
The Populist Party was formed in 1891 and sought to represent the interests of the ordinary people of the United States. Most populists were laborers or farmers. The Populists believed in “bimetallism,” that is, the unrestricted system of allowing two metals (silver and gold) as legal tender at a fixed ratio to each other. The cohabitation of both silver and gold offered more money and decreased value, which meant less debt to farmers and laborers.In the 1896 election, the Populists supported Democratic nominee William Jennings Bryan, who sided with the idea of the silver standard. Bryan's "Cross of Gold" speech in July of 1896, which called upon the American government to side with the Populists and support bimetallism is best known for its powerful line, “You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold.”
