Editing Rosalynn Carter (section)

==Early life==
[[File:Photograph of Rosalynn Carter at about Age 17.gif|thumb|upright|Rosalynn around age 17 in 1944]]

Eleanor Rosalynn Smith was born on August 18, 1927, in [[Plains, Georgia]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 19, 2023 |title=A timeline of key moments from former first lady Rosalynn Carter's 96 years |url=https://apnews.com/article/rosalynn-carter-dead-7b208f1b51fe0efd4fe8cf0ac0592fea |access-date=November 20, 2023 |work=Associated Press News |archive-date=November 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231120000723/https://apnews.com/article/rosalynn-carter-dead-7b208f1b51fe0efd4fe8cf0ac0592fea |url-status=live }}</ref> She was the eldest of four children of Wilburn Edgar Smith, an [[auto mechanic]], [[bus driver]], and farmer, and Frances Allethea "Allie" Murray Smith, a teacher, [[dressmaker]], and [[post office|postal worker]]. Her brothers were William Jerrold "Jerry" Smith (1929–2003), an engineer, and Murray Lee Smith (1932–2003), a teacher and minister. Her sister, Lillian Allethea (Smith) Wall (born 1936), known as Allethea, named for her mother and for [[Lillian Gordy Carter]] (the Smith and Carter families being friends),<ref name="O'Brien" /> is a real estate broker. Rosalynn was named after Rosa Wise Murray, her maternal grandmother.<ref>Carter, Rosalynn (1984), p. 3.</ref> Smith's grand-uncle W.S. Wise was one of the [[American Brazilians]] known as [[Confederados]] who emigrated from the United States to the [[Brazilian Empire]] after the [[American Civil War]].<ref name="Luft1995">{{cite news |last1=Kerry Luft & Staff |title=In Brazil, a Touch of Johhny Reb |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1995-04-30-9504300190-story.html |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=April 30, 1995 |access-date=November 19, 2023 |archive-date=May 17, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190517234915/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1995-04-30-9504300190-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Smith's family lived in poverty, although she later said that her siblings and she were unaware of it, because even though their family "didn't have much money [...] neither did anyone else, so as far as we knew, we were well off."<ref name="Carter1994">{{cite book |last1=Carter |first1=Rosalynn |title=First Lady from Plains |date=1994 |publisher=University of Arkansas Press |isbn=978-1-61075-155-1 |page=4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7dLECwAAQBAJ&pg=PA4 |access-date=November 19, 2023 |archive-date=November 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231120005403/https://books.google.com/books?id=7dLECwAAQBAJ&pg=PA4 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Wertheimer2004">{{cite book |last1=Wertheimer |first1=Molly |title=Inventing a Voice: The Rhetoric of American First Ladies of the Twentieth Century |date=2004 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-0-7425-2971-7 |page=343 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FBwYLVZHsWMC&pg=PA343 |access-date=November 19, 2023 |archive-date=November 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231120005403/https://books.google.com/books?id=FBwYLVZHsWMC&pg=PA343 |url-status=live }}</ref> Churches and schools were at the center of her family's community, and the people of Plains were familiar with each other.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://huffingtonpost.com/former-first-lady-rosalynn-carter/solving-the-mental-health_b_561747.html|title=Rosalynn Carter: Solving the Mental Crisis for Our Children|work=HuffPost|first=Rosalynn|last=Carter|date=May 6, 2010|access-date=December 7, 2019|archive-date=September 21, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170921190134/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/former-first-lady-rosalynn-carter/solving-the-mental-health_b_561747.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Smith played with the boys during her early childhood, since no girls on her street were her age. She drew buildings and was interested in airplanes, which led her to believe that she would someday become an architect.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.atlantamagazine.com/features/whereimfrom/Story.aspx?ID=1658616|title=Where I'm From|publisher=Atlanta|date=February 1, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140421052530/http://www.atlantamagazine.com/features/whereimfrom/Story.aspx?ID=1658616|archive-date=April 21, 2014}}</ref>

Rosalynn's father died of [[leukemia]] in 1940, when she was 13. She called the loss of her father the conclusion of her childhood.<ref>Carter, Rosalynn (1984), p. 17.</ref> Thereafter, she helped her mother raise her younger siblings, and assisted in the dressmaking business to meet the family's financial obligations.<ref name=Godbold /> Rosalynn would credit her mother with inspiring her own independence and said that she learned from her mother that "you can do what you have to do".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2002-11-06/features/0211060029_1_president-jimmy-carter-mrs-carter-rosalynn-carter-institute|title=Rosalynn Carter at peace with her work and herself|first=Michele|last=Weldon|work=Chicago Tribune|date=November 6, 2002|access-date=November 13, 2017|archive-date=November 13, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171113113234/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2002-11-06/features/0211060029_1_president-jimmy-carter-mrs-carter-rosalynn-carter-institute|url-status=dead}}</ref> At Plains High School, Rosalynn worked hard to achieve her father's dream of seeing her go to college.<ref name=Godbold>Godbold, p. 44.</ref> Rosalynn graduated as [[valedictorian]] of Plains High School.<ref name=importance/> Soon after, she attended [[Georgia Southwestern College]] and graduated in 1946.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.jimmycarterlibrary.gov/about_us/biography_of_rosalynn_carter |title=Biography of Rosalynn Carter |publisher=[[Jimmy Carter Library and Museum]]|access-date=July 7, 2022 |archive-date=August 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220809114228/https://www.jimmycarterlibrary.gov/about_us/biography_of_rosalynn_carter |url-status=live }}</ref> During her time in college, Rosalynn served as vice president of her class and was a founding member of her school's Young Democrats, Campus Marshal, and Tumbling Clubs.<ref name=collegeandnotable>{{cite news|url=https://www.gsw.edu/alumni/_files/rosalynn-carter-at-gsw.pdf|title=Rosalynn Carter at GSW|publisher=gsw.edu|accessdate=November 27, 2023|archive-date=November 29, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231129170752/https://www.gsw.edu/alumni/_files/rosalynn-carter-at-gsw.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=graduated>{{cite news|url=https://www.11alive.com/article/news/politics/jimmy-carter/rosalynn-carter-georgia-southwestern-state-university-alma-mater-campus-buildings/85-d5a6696e-1f8a-47a6-91e7-8a8b2accf676|title='Never did I dream they would bear my name' – Namesake buildings honor Rosalynn Carter's history at alma mater|first1=Christie|last1=Diez|publisher=[[11Alive]]|date=November 27, 2023|accessdate=November 27, 2023}}</ref> She graduated with a [[junior college]] diploma.<ref name=collegeandnotable /><ref name=graduated />

Rosalynn first dated [[Jimmy Carter]] in 1945 while he was attending the [[United States Naval Academy]] at [[Annapolis]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 20, 2023 |title=Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter: A love story for the ages |url=https://www.ktvq.com/jimmy-and-rosalynn-carter-a-love-story-for-the-ages |access-date=November 20, 2023 |website=Q2 News (KTVQ) |archive-date=November 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231120211649/https://www.ktvq.com/jimmy-and-rosalynn-carter-a-love-story-for-the-ages |url-status=live }}</ref> Rosalynn agreed to marry Jimmy in February 1946, when she went to Annapolis with his parents. The two scheduled their marriage to take place in July and kept the arrangement secret. Rosalynn was hesitant to tell her mother she had chosen to marry instead of continuing her education.<ref name="Godbold-2" /> On July 7, 1946, they married in Plains. Their marriage caused Rosalynn to cancel her plans to attend [[Georgia State College for Women]], where she had planned to study interior design.<ref name="Kaufman119" /> The couple had four children: [[Jack Carter (politician)|John William "Jack"]] (b. 1947), James Earl "Chip" III (b. 1950), Donnel Jeffrey "Jeff" (b. 1952), and [[Amy Carter|Amy Lynn]] (b. 1967).<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://people.com/politics/jimmy-carter-rosalynn-carter-relationship-timeline/|title=Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter's Relationship Timeline|last=Sager|first=Jessica|date=November 17, 2023|access-date=November 19, 2023|magazine=People|archive-date=November 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231119095334/https://people.com/politics/jimmy-carter-rosalynn-carter-relationship-timeline/|url-status=live}}</ref>