FDR’s First 100 Days: A Blueprint for Bold, Democratic Government

In the midst of a global crisis brought on by the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) recognized that only bold, democratic government could meet the scale of the nation’s economic and social turmoil. In his first 100 days, he fundamentally reshaped the relationship between the federal government and the American people—restoring trust in financial institutions, delivering relief to struggling families, and jump-starting an economy pushed to failure by unfettered markets. In addition to signing 99 executive orders, FDR worked with Congress to pass historic legislation that defined government not as a seat of executive authority but as a tool to build: investing in people, checking corporate power, and expanding opportunity.

The very idea of “the first 100 days” comes from this moment in American history. Today, the Trump administration is attempting to undermine or hollow out institutions born of the New Deal—like the Social Security Administration, the National Labor Relations Board, and independent regulatory agencies. These efforts are attempts to roll back the structures Roosevelt created to support workers and rebalance power. 

Landmark Legislation in FDR’s First 100 Days:

On his first full day in office, FDR called Congress into an emergency session to pass legislation to stabilize the banking system. He issued a proclamation temporarily closing every bank in the country and delivered the first of his Fireside Chats, directly engaging the public. It was these first 100 days that laid the foundation of the New Deal, legislation that fundamentally changed what Americans could expect from their government.

In FDR’s first 100 days, Congress passed the following elements of FDR’s New Deal agenda: 

• Civilian Conservation Corps: a public work relief program that put hundreds of thousands of unemployed young men to work restoring forests, building parks, and conserving natural resources—while providing them with housing, food, and job training
• Emergency Banking Act: stabilized the banking system by authorizing the Federal Reserve to issue emergency currency and established the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which insured bank deposits
• Federal Emergency Relief Act: delivered direct aid and work relief to millions of Americans through local governments
• Glass-Steagall Banking Act: established the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to insure bank deposits, aiming to restore public confidence in the banking system after the Great Depression
• National Industrial Recovery Act: authorized the president to regulate industry for fair wages and prices to stimulate economic recovery and established a national public works program 
• Securities Act: curbed market abuses and encouraged investor confidence by bringing federal oversight to the securities markets for the first time

At the Roosevelt Institute, we believe that public power must be used affirmatively to create a more equitable economy, strengthen democracy, and center the needs of people over profit. The lesson of FDR’s first 100 days is not simply about action but about vision: Government can and must be a force for shared prosperity, economic dignity, and long-term structural change. 

“We define the success of an agenda not by what it destroys but what it builds, and how it expands agency and power for working families.” —Elizabeth Wilkins, President and CEO, Roosevelt Institute