The document summarizes the Populist Movement of the 1880s-1890s in the United States. Key aspects included angry farmers forming the Populist Party to protest economic problems affecting many groups. The 1890s experienced the worst economic depression at that time. The Populist Platform advocated for ideas like free silver and women's suffrage. William Jennings Bryan and Mary Elizabeth Lease were important Populist figures. The Wizard of Oz can be seen as a political allegory representing these tensions through its characters. The Panic of 1893 exacerbated the economic problems, but recovery began before Congress passed relief measures as demand increased in Europe.

1. The Populist Movement 1880s – 1890s

2. The Presidents in the 1890s Grover Cleveland (1837 – 1908) 24 th 1893 - 1897 William McKinley (1843 – 1901) 25 th 1897 - 1901 Benjamin Harrison (1833 – 1901) 23 rd 1889 - 1893

5. James B. Weaver (1833 – 1912) Populist Party candidate, election of 1892

7. Mary Elizabeth Lease (1850 – 1933) “Queen Mary” or “Mary Yellin” Populist political activist

9. L. Frank Baum (1856 – 1919) author of The Wizard of OZ

10. The Wizard of Oz as Political Allegory

11. The characters and who they represent

12. Dorothy represents the American people

13. The Scarecrow represents the western farmers (Populists)

14. The Tin Woodsman represents the eastern workers, victims of mechanization

15. The Cowardly Lion represents William Jennings Bryan (1860 – 1925): Bryan, a Democrat, ran for the presidency in 1896 and lost to William McKinley; thus Bryan had a load roar, but no power.

17. The Wicked Witch of the East Represents the eastern banking interests

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19. The Wizard of Oz William McKinley (1843 – 1901) 25 th President of the United States (1897 – 1901) Marcus A. Hanna (1837 – 1904) or

20. Oz The abbreviation for an ounce of gold or silver

21. The Yellow Brick Road and Silver (not ruby!)Slippers

23. Balance achieved? Only with a proper coalition of industrial and agrarian interests, but it never happened

24. The Panic of 1893

26. Poster for a melodrama, presented at the Chestnut St. Opera House, Philadelphia, 1895

27. Coxey’s Army Jacob S. Coxey (1854 – 1951), Ohio businessman led a march on Washington in 1894 to urge the government to provide assistance. The government was unresponsive, Coxey was arrested and the marchers disbanded.