Why 100 Days?
The 100 days concept is believed to have its roots in France, where the concept of “Cent Jours” (Hundred Days) refers to the period of 1815 between Napoleon Bonaparte’s return to Paris from exile on the island of Elba and his final defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, after which King Louis XVIII regained the French throne.
When did the first 100 days become a key benchmark for a U.S. presidential administration?
In the United States, no one talked that much about the importance of a president’s first 100 days—until Franklin D. Roosevelt took office in 1933. He took swift action to calm the nation’s crippling financial panic (cue the Emergency Banking Act and the “fireside chats” that became Roosevelt’s signature) and began rolling out the programs that made up his New Deal, including 15 major pieces of legislation in the first 100 days. FDR’s extraordinary productivity translated into enormous popularity, and he set a first 100-day standard against which all future U.S. presidents would (perhaps unfairly) be measured.
What are some of the most notable things that have occurred in past presidents’ first 100 days?
John F. Kennedy ordered the ill-fated Bay of Pigs invasion 87 days into his presidency. At a time when the U.S. and USSR were locked in the Cold War, JFK’s first 100 days also saw the Soviets launch the first human into space.
September 1974, barely a month into his presidency, Gerald Ford gave Richard Nixon a full pardon for his involvement in the Watergate scandal that led to his resignation. Widespread condemnation of Ford’s decision to pardon his predecessor is thought to have contributed to his failure to win the 1976 election.
On Day 1, Ronald Reagan started off with a bang, announcing the release of U.S. diplomats being held hostage in Iran. Sixty-nine days into his administration, he survived an assassination attempt.
Barack Obama—who like FDR took office during a severe financial crisis—was able to get Congress to sign a $787 million stimulus package, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, on his 29th day in office.