The first hundred years are the hardest.

The earliest located appearance is in a January 9, 1918 one-panel “Indoor Sports” comic by cartoonist Thomas Aloysius “Tad” Dorgan. In the panel, the line is presented as something Bill Downing says (“WELL, AS BILL DOWNING SAYS THE FIRST 100 YEARS ARE THE HARDEST”), implying Dorgan was repeating a quip already associated with Downing rather than claiming it as his own.

A deliberately exaggerated version of “the first year is the hardest,” using an absurdly long time span to make a joke about how difficult life or any undertaking can feel at the beginning.

Well, as Bill Downing says the first 100 years are the hardest.

Life’s a tough proposition and the first 100 years are the toughest part of it.

Life is a tough proposition and the first hundred years are the hardest.

The first 100 years are the worst.