A Place of Pilgrimage

The Fireside—News and Views from The Living New Deal

A Place of Pilgrimage

Little White House, Photo Credit: Courtesy Commons.Wikimedia.org

On April 12, 1945, President Franklin Roosevelt died of a stroke while at the Little White House at Warm Springs, Georgia. He was 63. During his twelve years as president, FDR sought rest and renewal at a modest 6-room cottage near the therapeutic waters that relieved the symptoms of his polio. He credited this time at Warm Springs as the inspiration for his New Deal programs to alleviate rural poverty. 

The Little White House is today a National Historic Landmark and a place of pilgrimage, receiving more than 100,000 visitors a year. John Kennedy visited during his 1960 campaign for president. Jimmy Carter opened his presidential campaign here in 1976. Joe Biden chose Warm Springs as a final stop during his 2020 presidential run. “This place, Warm Springs, is a reminder that though broken, each of us can be healed,” Biden said. “That as a people and a country, we can overcome this devastating virus, that we can heal a suffering world, and yes, we can restore our soul and save our country.”

Watch: Newsreel, the Funeral of FDR, April 12, 1945 (2:40 minutes)

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