The Worst Hard Time

The Worst Hard Time

by

Timothy Egan

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on The Worst Hard Time makes teaching easy.
A banker in Boise City, Oklahoma who seized properties from farmers who foreclosed on bank loans they had taken out in the 1920s. To prevent Johnson from selling off their farms and farming equipment, the farmers all agreed to show up at the auctions and bet only ten cents on seized property so that they could easily buy back what they had lost.
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John Johnson Character Timeline in The Worst Hard Time

The timeline below shows where the character John Johnson appears in The Worst Hard Time. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2: No Man's Land
Westward Expansion and the Settlement of the Southern Plains Theme Icon
Anglo Culture and Racism Theme Icon
The City vs. the Country Theme Icon
Environmental Devastation and the Dust Bowl Theme Icon
John Johnson ’s bank loaned money to people all over the county. People were happy to mortgage... (full context)
Chapter 5: Last of the Great Plowup
Westward Expansion and the Settlement of the Southern Plains Theme Icon
Economic Hardship and Lessons of the Great Depression Theme Icon
...Hazel accepted it. Then, when she took it to the bank, she was turned away. John Johnson ’s bank would not cash the warrants. Hazel worked the school year without pay. (full context)
Chapter 7: A Darkening
Economic Hardship and Lessons of the Great Depression Theme Icon
John Johnson ’s bank held weekly foreclosure auctions. He knew about the conspiracy of low bidding among... (full context)
Chapter 12: The Long Darkness
Economic Hardship and Lessons of the Great Depression Theme Icon
...that robbed the people. But they were also murderers. Still, Sheriff Barrick hated working at John Johnson ’s foreclosure auctions. (full context)