Gene Clanton disagrees with Littlefield's interpretation of the symbolism of the Wicked Witch of the West. Clanton makes a distinction between two different factions of agrarianism, "the radical-liberal and conservative-reactionary variants", and suggests that the Wicked Witch of the West symbolized left-wing Populism to Baum. Clanton suggests that Benjamin R. Tillman, a Democrat who served as governor and senator from South Carolina, was the inspiration for the Wicked Witch of the West. Tillman represented the excesses of the agrarian revolt to industrial leaders and his image as a racist and demagogue made him an easy person to vilify. [2]

The Wicked Witch of the West had a sister who was killed when Dorothy's house landed in Oz. Littlefield suggested that the Wicked Witch of the East represented bankers and industrial interests, which were concentrated in the east. By killing the Wicked Witch of the East, Dorothy freed the Munchkins, or the "little people." Hugh Rockoff suggests, however, that while this interpretation may work on a general level, a Populist would see the Wicked Witch of the East as Grover Cleveland, who served as President from 1893 to 1897 (he had also served a term in office from 1885 to 1889). Grover Cleveland, who was known as the "Great Obstructionist," favored the gold standard and William Jennings Bryan overcame that faction of the party to win the Democratic Party nomination in the election for president in 1896. The Populists then endorsed Bryan as their own candidate for president. Even though it was unlikely that the silver standard would be adopted, Bryan's candidacy made that seem possible because, as Rockoff puts it, "the Wicked Witch of the East was (politically) dead." [3]