"The Adventures of Oz" is based on a children's book written in 1900. Movies and books tell the story of a little girl named Doris who lost her way in a strange land far from home. This story is actually an allusion to American monetary policy in the late 19th century.
From 1880 to 1896, the price level in the United States fell by 23%. Since this event was unexpected, it caused a major redistribution of wealth. Most farmers in the western part of the United States became debtors, and their creditors were bankers in the east. When the price level drops, it causes the true value of these debts to rise, which enriches the bank at the expense of the interests of farmers.
According to the views of the politicians of the People's Party at the time, the solution to the peasant problem was the free coinage of silver coins. During this period, the United States was operating under the gold standard. The quantity of gold determines the money supply and thus the price level. Advocates of free coinage of silver want to use silver as money as gold. If this proposal is adopted, it will increase the money supply, increase prices, and reduce the real burden of farmers’ debts.
The controversy surrounding silver coins became heated and became the political center of the 1890s. The BJP’s campaign slogan is "We are in debt, and only the votes in our hands are left." The freely minted silver coin thinks that the famous advocate is the Democratic Party's 1896 presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan. He is remembered partly because of his speech at the Democratic Party’s nomination conference. In this speech, he said: “You shouldn’t you guys. This economic crown is hard pressed on the heads of workers. You shouldn’t use it. The golden cross came to brutalize his fellow citizens.” Since then, few politicians have been able to use poetry-like language to package their different views on monetary policy. But Bryan lost to the Republican William Mckinley in the election, and the United States also maintained its principal position.
L. Frank Baum, author of The Adventures of Oz, is a journalist in the Midwest. When he wrote this story to the children, he created several characters that represented figures in the major political struggles of the time. The following is an explanation of this story published by the economic historian Hugh Rockoff in the Journal of Political Economy in 1990:
Doris: traditional American values
Puppy Dodo: Prohibition Party, also known as abstinence
Scarecrow: Farmer
Tin Man: Industrial Worker
Cowardly Lion: William Jennings Bryan
Mochicans: Easterners
The Wicked Witch of the East: Grover Cleveland
Wicked Witch of the West: William Mckinley
Magician: Republican Party Chairman Marcus Alonzo Hanna
Oz: shorthand for one ounce of gold
Yellow Brick Road: Gold Standard
At the end of the story, Doris found her way home, but not along the yellow brick road. After a long and dangerous journey, she understood that the magician could not help her or her friends. Finally, Doris discovered the magic of her silver slippers. (When "The Adventures of Oz Country" was made into a movie in 1939, Doris’s slippers were changed from silver to rubies. Obviously Hollywood filmmakers were more interested in showing off color prints. A new technology, not a story about monetary policy in the 19th century.)
The content is from Mankiw's Principles of Macroeconomics.
View more about The Wizard of Oz reviews
