The Loves of Theodore Roosevelt: The Women Who Created a President

On May 17 the Brattleboro Literary Festival hosted Edward O’Keefe, author of "The Loves of Theodore Roosevelt: The Women Who Created a President," and CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation, who was in conversation with Michael Cullinane, the Lowman Walton Chair of Theodore Roosevelt Studies at Dickinson State University, and Public Historian for the Theodore Roosevelt Association.
Theodore Roosevelt wrote in his senior thesis for Harvard in 1880 that women ought to be paid equal to men and have the option of keeping their maiden names upon marriage. It’s little surprise he’d be a feminist, given the women he grew up with.
The Women:
Martha “Mittie“ Bulloch-His mother,, was witty and decisive, a Southern belle raising four young children in New York while her husband spent long stretches away with the Union Army.
Anna “Bamie”-His older sister would soon become her brother’s key political strategist and advisor; journalists called her Washington, DC, home “the little White House.”
Corrine “Conie”-Theodore’s younger sister served as her brother’s press secretary before the role existed, slipping stories of his heroics in Cuba and his rambunctious home life to reporters to create the legend of the Rough Rider we remember today.
Alice Hathaway-Was Theodore’s college sweetheart and first wife-so vivacious she was known as Sunshine-steered her beau away from science (he’d roam campus with taxidermy specimen in his pockets) and towards politics.
Edith Kermit Carow-- His childhood playmate and second wife-would elevate the role of presidential spouse to an American institution, curating both the White House and her husband’s legacy.
The Authors:
Edward F. O’Keefe is the CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation. He previously spent two decades in broadcast and digital media, during which time he received a Primetime Emmy Award for his work with Anthony Bourdain, two Webby Awards, the Edward R. Murrow Award, and a George Foster Peabody Award for ABC News coverage of 9/11.
Michael Cullinane is a historian of American politics, an award-winning author, and the Lowman Walton Chair of Theodore Roosevelt Studies at Dickinson State University. He also serves as a Public Historian for the Theodore Roosevelt Association and contributes to the design and curation of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library due to open in 2026. He is author of several books and hosts the popular podcast "The Gilded Age and Progressive Era."