The Populist Movement: The Real Story Behind the Wizard of Oz | The Story of Money, Episode 10

The Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion are just fanciful characters in a children's tale that has nothing to do with financial history, right? Think again! If viewed from a certain perspective, first suggested by historian Henry Littlefield in 1964, the Wizard of Oz can help our understanding of the Populist movement and the 19th century debate over the gold standard.

This is episode 10 of Dollars & Debt: The Story of Money from Benjamin Franklin to Occupy Wall Street, a series on US financial history created by Athens Politics Nerd.

SOURCES
Goldbugs and Greenbacks: The Anti-Monopoly Tradition by Gretchen Ritter
The Populist Moment by Lawrence Goodwyn
There is Power in a Union by Philip Dray
A Financial History of the United States by Margaret Myers

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[jakeroach]

Idk how I stumbled into this, but wow, great video! I hope the algorithm brings you more randos, because this was very informative and entertaining.

[nickma]

Pay no mind to that man behind the curtain....he couldn't have been more obvious.

[lamarravery]

With all the symbolism, how can you deny this was just a simple children's story. Every character represents a class of people exploited during the gilded age and the importance of silver and gold and the crime of 1873, I don't care what the nay sayers say, L. frank Baum knew what he was doing, he was making a children's story out of current events of the day. Very ingenious.

[Adrian.Messenger]

The BBC broadcast a coded warning every single day for 40 years. It's explained in a video called Hidden Meaning of Test Card F

[lakewobegonesbest]

Binging your videos. Great info, despite the fx 😂. I appreciate the working-class lens used and highlighting lesser known people vital to history. It’s a great counter to glorification of “captains” and “titans”. Btw, I had no idea that the oligarchy’s fear of communism went back so far!

[wesman]

Wouldn't the prices of everything fall if there wasn't someone manipulating it?

[Elvengem]

The Hebrew bible hinted that using silver was the best way to buy things rather than gold backed money, Also not charging interests to country men.

[whatishotu]

there is no need to make your claims to be the absolute truth. it's better to let things open if there is no proof shown and let the people decide themselves. It can encourage to critical thinking. beside that I found it informative and really the best video I have seen on youtube so far, when it comes to the speed of talking. I think you did a great job recording this.

[greythefox]

Wow, great job on this video! Very interesting!!😊

[onehumanhistory]

glad to see your sub count rising. This is one of the best channels on youtube. You deserve more subs than me for sure. Keep going!

[flyingfoamtv]

this video is interesting and very intelligent.

[paulsansonetti]

17:55 ots wonderful how you thinking saying something is anti semetic is a factual refutation of it being true

[williamdogan]

I don’t believe this, sort of. Why ignore what Baum himself said?

[lakewobegonesbest]

Anti-wage slavery started pre-Civil War. It was used to justify slavery. George Fitzugh wrote that north and south exploited laborers but slavery was more humane bc owned slaves represented capital while capitalists just rented wage-laborers. Child labor and work conditions were awful, but children had been bred as slaves and torn from their mothers to be sold for generations by then. And of course wage-laborers weren’t hunted, tortured, and hanged for quitting, a point the slave-owning author neglected.

[ujtb]

Wait....i recognize the narrator...does he narrate Triangulum Studio's? Which examine's Star Trek topics with a grain of star dust??? I feel like i just watched a video with him examining the Galaxy class project line of ships pre-Wolf 359...😮

[majkus]

Clickbait title: "The Real Story Behind the Wizard of Oz"? No. There are dozens of serious articles debunking the idea that Baum was writing an economic allegory, but perhaps the most convincing argument is that not one person noticed this 'allegory' for sixty years, until a high school teacher, trying to find a way to build his students' interest in the economic history of the time, came up with the 'populist parable'. Think of it. At the time when Baum's book was published, when the economic issues were well known to everyone, and the book had enjoyed huge success (including a Broadway musical), _not_ _one_ editorial, article, or even political cartoon ever drew attention to this 'Real Story'. The book may serve to bring the issues of the time into relief, as you have used it here, but it serves no one to strengthen the urban folklore (or meme) that Baum was a clever satirist along the lines of Jonathan Swift. "Everyone knows that The Wizard of Oz is a political fable." Along with "We only use ten percent of our brains" and other non-facts that everyone 'knows'.

PS. As a satirist or allegorist, Baum was not subtle, as can be seen with the gentle satire of the suffragettes (Baum's mother-in-law was feminist Matilda Gage) in the sequel, 'The Marvelous Land of Oz'.

[douglasbroccone]

The problem of inflation is much worse than deflation

At least prices could come up eventually

With inflation the trap is unable to reverse without an absolute societal disaster

Deflation while not perfect at least is much easier to correct

[lionelt.]

The thumbnail would make for a great poster.

[StudioDrewMixedit]

How do you know so much? I’m so curious how you are making this series lol

[User-x]

17:50 no seriously, what other reason Could there have been?