It is interesting to note that Baum's biographers are opposed to the notion that Baum had any political intent in writing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. If Baum had been a Populist supporter, the imagery in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz suggests that Baum had lost his zeal for the Populist movement. Where the Populists looked to the federal government, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz delivers the message that the wizard's power is all an illusion and it is misguided to look to him for solutions. Baum, in fact, is suggesting the opposite—people can find their own solutions by looking within themselves, not to any external power. Baum is not completely individualistic, though. He demonstrates the value of working together, but he distrusts large institutions. In this way, Baum's story is very American with broad appeal to American sensibilities, and these ideas have continued to have relevance in recent years. Distrust of the federal government has been embraced by the left, most notably during the years of the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal, and embraced by the right in recent years, most forcefully expressed by Ronald Reagan in the 1980s. The left could applaud Baum's distrust of capital while the right could point to the way Baum's characters pull themselves up by their bootstraps.