Decoding L. Frank Baum’s and W. W. Denslow’s Wicked Witch of the West

For over fifty years the degree of allegorical content in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz has been debated. Comparison of L. Frank Baum’s and W. W. Denslow’s witch, 1890s social and economic history, and James J. Hill’s biography reveals that most of the Wicked Witch of the West’s attributes match Hill’s. The Wicked Witch of the West’s and Hill’s common attributes go well beyond coincidence and reflect Baum’s experience in Aberdeen, South Dakota, which was within Hill’s northern Great Plains domain, suggesting intentional infusion of allegorical and topical satirical content by Baum and Denslow.