Although on the surface the tale operates as a children’s story, many postulate that the main characters in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz are allegorical, representing different classes of Americans who vied for power in the late 1800s. Baum worked as a journalist and had an interest in the political shifts that were occurring at this time in the United States, particular in the Midwest.

Baum was known for his democratic ideals and was sympathetic toward the struggling working class. He spent time in Chicago, where he witnessed the devastation suffered by thousands of workers during an economic downturn that affected manufacturing in the late 1800s. The Tin Woodman is thought to represent disenfranchised factory workers. The heartlessness of unsympathetic politicians from the East Coast may be represented in the Wicked Witch of the East cursing the Woodman to cut all his limbs off. He is reduced to a rusted and frozen statue, symbolizing the soulless and dehumanizing factory industries, as well as the faltering state of industries in the nation’s heartland.

The Scarecrow is thought to represent American farmers. Baum’s depiction of the Scarecrow as intelligent but lacking in confidence reveals his opinion that American farmers are creative and innovative lateral thinkers who struggle to achieve legitimate representation in the political sphere.