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  The Wizard of Oz: Was the Classic Story a Political Commentary?
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Last EditedUser 13  Mar 26, 2004 01:26pm
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News DateFriday, March 26, 2004 06:00:00 AM UTC0:0
DescriptionThe 1896 election had two lasting impacts on American life. First, it launched an era of Republican dominance that enabled the GOP to occupy the White House for 28 out of the next 36 years. The second impact was that it may have inspired “The Wizard of Oz,” a classic American tale that became an annual staple of prime time television in the pre-Cable, pre-Internet era.

In 1896, William McKinley was the Republican candidate who many saw as a puppet of Ohio party boss Mark Hanna. McKinley didn’t campaign around the country as was traditional at the time. He stayed at home and issued pronouncements that were carried far and wide by the press and Republican political hacks. In the imagery of the Wizard of Oz, McKinley became the Wizard himself—a leader that no one had really seen and who issued scary commands from behind a curtain.

The Cowardly Lion was a caricature of the Democratic candidate—William Jennings Bryan—and a commentary on his foreign policy views. The reference may have been tied to Bryan's opposition to the Spanish-American War (Bryan's anti-Imperialism became a major issue in his election 1900 rematch with McKinley).
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