Late 1800 s period of rapid growth in westward expansion industrialization and the growth of big business immigration and the growth of urban centers The Mid West The Setting The Great Plains rapid growth good rainfall railroads move crops land was cheap The Great Plains Trouble begins severe drought overproduction farmers in debt blame the railroads (monopolies) natural disaster occurred Silver is measured in ounces Oz= ounce KANSAS IN THE LATE 1800s Farmer discontent and Populist politics were concentrated in Kansas Suffering from a droughtmany farmers going through hard times Farmers wanted the free coinage of silver to help them out of debt Shown in a sepia wash Dorothy wants out Somewhere Over the Rainbow DOROTHY Common people From a Kansas farm Does not see the power of slippers at first THE SCARECROW Represents farmers Farmers thought to be ignorantlooking for a brain Shows common sense throughout the storyhas always had a brain Shows belief that farmers were not as ignorant as wealthy people thought THE COWARDLY LION Represents William Jennings BryanPopulist leader Looking for courageBryan thought to be a coward by some Possessed courage all along THE TIN MAN Industrial workers Wants a heartdehumanized Physically strong, hollow inside Stuck when the found him workers felt trapped in an economic rut WICKED WITCH OF THE WEST Personification of harsh natural forces of west, such as the drought Dorothys main adversarypresent throughout entire story Dorothys house lands on the Wicked Witch of the East. WICKED WITCH OF THE EAST Stands for wealthy people of the East favoring gold currency Symbolic of big businesses and corporation who also wanted gold standard Dorothy kills herdefeats people who wanted gold currency THE WIZARD Represents leadership during the depression Government seemed powerless Uses hot air balloon (as did many cartoons) Wizard is from Kansas, like Dorothy The Yellow Brick Road Represents balance between silver and gold movements Journey on road is dangerousgold standard might not be wise THE EMERALD CITY Main political city of Oz Symbolizes the national capital, as well as paper money Toto Toto is a play of the word teetotaler Teetotaler is what prohibitionists were called Prohibitionists were among the Populists most faithful allies Flying Monkey The Winged Monkeys are the Plains Indians. Quoted from the book Once we were free people living happily in the forest CYCLONE Cyclones used in many Populist political cartoons Some pamphlets compared the depression of the 1890s to a cyclone The Ruby Slippers Originally silver Changed to ruby because of color technology Symbolize the power of the silver movement The Winkies The enslaved, indebted working class All we own, we owe