The secrets behind: The Wizard of Oz

I've grown up reading "The Wizard of Oz." I know many of us know it as a cute children's story, teaching you the power of courage, love, and knowledge. But, this book was not meant to be just a cute childrens story. I discovered this in my History 106 class, and then on re-reading the story, found the details my professor had mentioned. The author, L. Frank Baum, wrote this story in 1900. This was during the industrial revolution, when farmers began suffering from lowered prices and wars with the railroads. Baum wrote this story to show the farmers suffering. Each of the characters stands for a person of the time period.

Dorothy= the commoner (because she is from Kansas).
The Tin Man= an industrial worker (with no heart and rusting because of depression).
The Scarecrow= the farmer (no wit to see their horrible situation or choose an appropriate political party).
The Lion= William Jennings Bryan (had a loud "roar" but little power and never followed through in running for presidency).
The Good Wiches (North and South)= the "magical" potential the people of the north and south had to make things better.
Wicked Witch of the East= Eastern bankers
orginal text: silver slippers= the silver standard, yellow brick road= the gold standard
(both were being heavily disputed at the time).
Emerald City= Washington
Wizard= President (reveals his little power to control things).
Wicked Witch of the West= West Coast Elite (killed when water is poured over her, symbolizing the drought).
The monkeys= The indians attacking the commoners or little people (who are represented by the munchkins).

I was very interested to see all of these attributes as I read. There are many different interpretations of the historical context in this book, but it reinforces the ideas that many childrens stories from earlier times could be read by adults in a significantly different manner. I personally agree with this interpretation of the historical aspects of the story, though I had never before even begun to imagine that one of my favorite childrens stories was actually a historical tale of suffering.