<P> The first 100 days of Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency began on March 4, 1933, the day Franklin D. Roosevelt was inaugurated as the 32nd President of the United States . During this period, he presented a series of initiatives to Congress designed to counter the effects of the Great Depression . He had signaled his intention to move with unprecedented speed to address the problems facing the nation in his inaugural address, declaring: "I am prepared under my constitutional duty to recommend the measures that a stricken nation in the midst of a stricken world may require ." Roosevelt's specific priorities at the outset of his presidency were getting Americans back to work, protecting their savings and create prosperity, providing relief for the sick and elderly, and getting industry and agriculture back on their feet . The 100th day of his presidency was June 11, 1933 . </P> <P> Roosevelt coined the term "first 100 days" during a July 24, 1933, radio . Fifteen major laws were enacted during this period . Since then, the first 100 days of a presidential term has taken on symbolic significance, and the period is considered a benchmark to measure the early success of a president . </P> <P> Franklin D. Roosevelt spent the first week of his Presidency dealing with a month - long series of bank closures that were ruining families nationwide . He closed the entire American banking system on March 6, 1933 . On March 9, Congress passed the Emergency Banking Act, which Roosevelt used to effectively create federal deposit insurance when the banks reopened . At 10 p.m. ET that Sunday night, on the eve of the end of the bank holiday, Roosevelt spoke to a radio audience of more than 60 million people, to tell them in clear language "what has been done in the last few days, why it was done, and what the next steps are going to be ." It was the first of 30 evening radio addresses that came to be called the Fireside Chats . </P> <P> The result, according to economic historian William L. Silber, was a "remarkable turnaround in the public's confidence...The contemporary press confirms that the public recognized the implicit guarantee and, as a result, believed that the reopened banks would be safe, as the President explained in his first Fireside Chat ." Within two weeks people returned more than half of the cash they had been hoarding, and the first stock - trading day after the bank holiday marked the largest - ever one - day percentage price increase . </P>

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