When I was a kid, my mom and my uncle used to buy me books on the presidents.

My uncle in particular would buy me used books or encyclopedias that he found in garage sales and swap meets,

and many of them dated back to the 1950s and 60s.

So when I learned about the presidents, it was usually through the lens of the people living at the time.

Now, presidential reputations can change over the years, it was usually through the lens of the people living at the time. Now, presidential reputations can change over the years, so when I read more recent books, I noticed that there

was a difference in how some presidents were perceived. For instance, Andrew Jackson was still

considered a hero to many Americans in the 50s and 60s. Since then, he's become one of the most hated

presidents in history. And some presidents have become more appreciated, like Dwight Eisenhower.

With all that said, when I read these old books, one president really stood out, Franklin

Delano Roosevelt. And here's why. One of my encyclopedia sets from the 1960s was titled

The Cultural Library. In the famous people of all time volume, FDR's entry begins with, quote,

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the most controversial president of the United States. He was

extravagantly admired and bitterly

denounced. Almost no one was indifferent to him. When I read this now, it strikes me as a bit odd.

FDR definitely had his share of critics, but he isn't the first president I think of when I think

of the word controversial. I think more about people like Andrew Jackson because of the

Indian Removal Act and the spoils system, or Richard Nixon because of Watergate, or pretty much

any of our most recent presidents. Now, FDR was controversial, but I never really thought he was

the most controversial president. Maybe the authors would revise that statement today,

especially after the hyper-partisanship of the last few decades. Either way, it does give us a

glimpse into how divisive FDR was at the time, how unprecedented he was, how for many people,

he was a huge departure from what came before him. So much so that 20 years after his presidency ended,

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