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Setting priorities for his first term in 1933 was easy for President Franklin D. Roosevelt. He had to save America from economic ruin. He had to at least begin to pull us out of our Great Depression. He did, and he did it during his "first hundred days." On his first day in office, March 4, 1933, FDR called Congress into a special session. He then proceeded to drive a series of bills through Congress that reformed the U.S. banking industry, saved American agriculture and allowed for industrial recovery. At the same time, FDR wielded the executive order in creating the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Public Works Administration, and the Tennessee Valley Authority. These projects put tens of thousands of Americans back to work building dams, bridges, highways and much needed public utility systems. By the time Congress adjourned the special session on June 16, 1933, Roosevelt's agenda, the "New Deal," was in place. America, though still staggering, was off the mat and back in the fight. Not all of the New Deal worked and it took World War II to finally solidify the nation's economy. Yet, to this day, Americans still grade the initial performance of all new presidents against Franklin D. Roosevelt's "First Hundred Days." During their first hundred days, all new presidents try to harness the carryover energy of a successful campaign by at least starting to implement the main programs and promises coming from the primaries and debates. During some part of their first hundred days, Congress and the press generally allow new presidents a "honeymoon period," during which public criticism is held to a minimum. It is during this totally unofficial and typically fleeting grace period that new presidents often try to get bills through Congress that might face more opposition later in the term. The
First Thirty-or-so of the
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