Everyone will remember the story of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz; The charming Dorothy is swept away by a terrible tornado, lands in a town full of little munchkins, walks down a yellow brick road and meets a scarecrow, a tin man and a lion, is almost killed by an evil witch, then ends up make a way. back to Kansas clicking its hills three times and saying, “I wish I was home.” But is that really the whole story? Shouldn't there be more? Well, to answer that question, there is more to this story. It's not just about a girl from Kansas being swept away by a tornado to the wonderful land of Oz. L. Frank Baum painted a magnificent picture of life and politics in America in the late 1800s. Being a politician himself, it was only right and fair for him to include this in this timeless classic. Each character in the novel represents someone or something from that era in American history. Each of the main characters and locations will be discussed, Kansas, Dorothy, Aunt Em, Uncle Henry, the companions and the WizardBaum, himself, was an extremely interesting man. He grew up with a fascination with fairy tales, like most children today. His father was a wealthy oilman and didn't like Baum's interest in fairy tales, so he sent him to military school. This only made Baum worse and they made arrangements to send him home due to his unstable health. Returning home, he found writing and began publishing his own article called The Rose Lawn Home Journal. Baum enjoyed it so much that he began writing for several different newspapers and magazines. As he grew up, he became a political writer for the Aberdeen Saturday Pioneer newspaper in North Dakota. This is where Baum got most of his idea for writing the Oz series, from N...... middle of paper ......008. Internet. 24. March. 2014. “Events in the West: 1880-1890.” PBS. West Film Project and WETA credits, 2001. Web. March 26, 2014. “The Free Silver Movement.” The gold standard now. np 2014. Web. March 26, 2014. Geer, John G. and Thomas R. Rochon. “William Jennings Bryan on the Yellow Brick Road.” Journal of American Culture 16.4 (Winter 1993): 59-64. Literary Resource Center. Internet. March 28, 2014.McGovern, Linda. "L Frank Baum - The man behind the curtain". Literary traveler. np 1999. Web. March 25, 2014.Ritter, Gretchen. “Silver Slippers and a Golden Cap: L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Historical Memory in American Politics.” Journal of American Studies 31.2. (1997): 171-202. JSTRO. Internet. March 26, 2014. Taylor, Quentin P. “Money and Politics in the Land of Oz.” Independent review 9.3. (2005): 413. General OneFile. Internet. March 23. 2014.