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Edith Roosevelt biography

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Edith Roosevelt established the modern role of First Lady and oversaw the building of the West Wing of the White House while her husband Teddy ran the country.


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Although Edith Kermit Carow had a teen romance with Teddy Roosevelt, he married someone else. The two were not reunited until after he became a widower. When they moved into the White House in 1901, it wasn't quite big enough for a family of six children, so Edith had a new West Wing built. She also established many of the traditions of the First Lady that remain today.

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