The presidential election of 1896, although it isn’t often remembered, is one of the most important in history. At the time, the United States economy ran on a system of bimetallism. That means that American money was backed by both Gold and Silver. However, the Republican candidate, William McKinley, was in favor of adopting the Gold Standard for American currency. The democratic candidate, William Jennings Bryan, was passionately opposed to it.
During his campaign, Bryan made his “Cross of Gold” speech the night before the election, which is thought to be one of the most passionate and persuasive speeches delivered. However, the people were not voting at that particular moment, and there were a few more hours of debate after his speech. The last speech of the night spoke in favor of the Gold standard.
In the end, the Gold standard won, and on March 14, 1990, the Gold Standard Act was signed. For thirty-three years the American currency was on the Gold standard, until Franklin D. Roosevelt repealed the act.
Imagine living in America at a time when the nation’s currency was in question. People must have felt similar uncertainty and doubt that many of us feel today. Many everyday citizens probably didn’t know what to think, or which system would be better. After all, what did they know about country’s supply of Gold and Silver? It’s hard to imagine what the consequences of a major decision that will affect the entire country and maybe even the world will be - whether the question is should America use the bimetallism system or the Gold standard, or if it’s should or shouldn’t we be in Iraq.
Also similarly to the war in Iraq and the election now, Americans living in 1896 knew the outcome of the election was going to affect their lives, but they weren’t sure how. Maybe the stock market wouldn’t have crashed in 1929 if Bryan won the election.
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People say that The Wizard of Oz was actually based on this election. Think about it, the presidential election occured in 1896, and the movie was released in 1939. And you're absolutely right, it was a very important moment in history.
One coincidental factor, in the movie was the yellow brick road. It is said to resemble the gold standard taking over. And in the book, moreso, this concept is evident. Dorothy is given silver slippers (instead of red ones, like in the movie)...so it is pretty clear that the concept of silver and gold were the focus. In the case of the real election, the gold standard did end up replacing the gold and silver backed standard.
As far as the characters go, there is a clear parallel to the election and those that were involved during the time period. The scarecrow represents the farmers, who I'm assuming weren't too intelligent, if the scarecrow needed a brain. Perhaps they were not concerned, or were naive, over the changing of the currency. The tinman represents the industrial worker. Perhaps, since the tinman needed a heart, it could parallel to the industrial worker being overly concerned and driven entirely by the love of money. The cowardly lion represents William Jennings Bryan. His speeches might have been passionate, however, not passionate enough. And it could be the reason why he wasn't elected president. The wizard represents McKinley.
[The vast and green] Emerald City is supposed to represent the whole concept of money. And I'm assuming that following the yellow brick road was the movie's way of implying that using the gold standard was a sure way to a prosperous community.
Very interesting.
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