This document summarizes the Populist movement of the late 19th century, which advocated for struggling farmers in response to economic hardships they faced. Farmers were burdened by debt from mechanization, specialized crop farming, and natural disasters. The Populist Party and Grange cooperative movement supported policies to help farmers, including bimetallism to increase the money supply through silver coins. William Jennings Bryan campaigned for president in 1896 on a platform of "Free Silver" but lost, contributing to the decline of the Populist movement. The Wizard of Oz novel and characters symbolized Populist ideas and figures through allegory.

1. Populism & The West“What you farmers need to do is raise less corn and more Hell!” Mary Elizabeth Lease (1890) Populist Organizer

2. Populism:What? 2Political movement that tried to help out the nation’s struggling farmers PopulismWhy?3Farmers were in trouble because of...1. Mechanization- More machines = more debt2. New Farm Land More land (on credit) = more debt

3. PopulismWhy?4Farmers were in trouble because of...3. Specialization of Crops - Farmers only raise one crop (leads to trouble if that crop has problems)4. Disasters - floods, boll-weevil, grasshoppers

4. Farmers Were MadCrop-lien system (collateral was future $); what if you didn’t make enough money? Someone else owned the land—Banks, whitesInterest rates were high (not uncommon—25%)Dollars to pay off debts were hard to getDelhi, Louisiana (1889): Farmers tried to cancel their debts by tearing down stores and banks!5

5. The Grange6What?Cooperative movement - farmers pooled their money to make shared purchases of machinery, supplies, insurance, etc.

6. One of the largest: Colored Farmers Alliance (goal: education! This would make African-Americans more informed votersHow?Worked for pro-farmer laws

7. Ex. Interstate Commerce Act - regulated rates of railroadsPopulist Party & Free Silver7Populists believed that this would solve nearly all of the farmer’s problems (Populists urged Black & White farmers to work TOGETHER—they had similar problems; this dramatically increased lynchings)Why?They wanted to use both silver and gold coins, thus increasing the amount of money in the countryWhat?All money would be worth less, a situation that was bad for creditors (big banks) and good for debtors (farmers)A Populist President?William Jennings Bryan8Ran as a Populist President in 1896 on platform of Free Silver

8. Big business opposes his run, Republicans win the white house, & Populists fade away“You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns. You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold” -- W.J. Bryan

9. The Wizard of OzWritten by Active Populist L. Frank Baum

10. Most things in the book represent something important to the populist movement9

11. The Wizard of OzBasic Symbols:10Ruby Slippers- In the book, were actually “Silver Slippers” (magic of Free Silver)Yellow Brick Road- “Gold” many dangers for regular people (like Dorothy)Oz- Abbreviation for Ounce (way gold is measured)

12. The Wizard of OzCharacters:11Dorothy- Traditional American ValuesScarecrow- Farmers (no brain)Tin Man- Industrial Workers

13. The Wizard of OzCharacters:12Lion- William Jennings Bryan (a pacifist)Temperance Activists (allies of the Populists)TotoMoney Power (influence is manipulation) Wizard