Definition of Stump Speech

Definition of Stump Speech Stump speech is a term used today to describe a candidates standard speech, delivered day after day during a typical political campaign. But in the 19th century, the phrase held a much more colorful meaning. The  phrase became firmly established in the early decades of the 1800s, and stump speeches got their name for a good reason: they would often be delivered by candidates who literally stood atop a tree stump. Stump speeches caught on along the American frontier, and there are numerous examples where politicians were said to be stumping for themselves or for other candidates. A reference book in the 1840s defined the terms to stump and stump speech. And by the 1850s newspaper articles from around the United States often referred to a candidate taking to the stump. The ability to give an effective stump speech was considered an essential political skill. And notable 19th-century politicians, including Henry Clay, Abraham Lincoln, and Stephen Douglas, were respected for their skills as stump speakers. Vintage Definition of Stump Speech The tradition of stump speeches became so well-established that A Dictionary of Americanisms, a reference book published in 1848, defined the term To stump: To Stump. To stump it or take the stump. A phrase signifying to make electioneering speeches. The 1848 dictionary also mentioned to stump it was a phrase borrowed from the backwoods, as it referred to speaking from atop a tree stump. The idea of linking stump speeches to the backwoods seems obvious, as the use of a tree stump as an improvised stage would naturally refer to a location where land was still being cleared. And the idea that stump speeches were essentially a rural event led to candidates in cities sometimes using the term in a mocking manner. The Style of 19th Century Stump Speeches Refined politicians in the cities may have looked down on stump speeches. But out in the countryside, and especially along the frontier, stump speeches appreciated for their rough and rustic character. They were free-wheeling performances that were different in content and tone from the more polite and sophisticated political discourse heard in the cities. At times the speech-making would be an all-day affair, complete with food and barrels of beer. The rollicking stump speeches of the early 1800s would typically contain boasts, jokes, or insults directed at opponents. A Dictionary of Americanisms quoted a memoir of the frontier published in 1843: Some very good stump speeches are delivered from a table, a chair, a whiskey barrel, and the like. Sometimes we make the best stump speeches on horseback. John Reynolds, who served as governor of Illinois in the 1830s, wrote a memoir in which he fondly recalled giving stump speeches in the late 1820s. Reynolds described the political ritual: Addresses known as stump-speeches received their name, and much of their celebrity, in Kentucky, where that mode of electioneering was carried to great perfection by the great orators of that state. A large tree is cut down in the forest, so that the shade may be enjoyed, and the stump is cut smooth on the top for the speaker to stand on. Sometimes, I have seen steps cut in them for the convenience of mounting them. Sometimes seats are prepared, but more frequently the audience enjoys the luxury of the green grass to sit and lie on. A book on the Lincoln-Douglas Debates published nearly a century ago recalled the heyday of stump speaking on the frontier, and how it was viewed as something of a sport, with opposing speakers engaging in spirited competition: A good stump speaker could always attract a crowd, and a wit combat between two speakers representing opposite parties was a real holiday of sport. It is true that the jokes and counterstrokes were often feeble attempts, and not very far removed from vulgarity; but the stronger the blows the better they were liked, and the more personal, the more enjoyable they were. Abraham Lincoln Possessed Skills as a Stump Speaker Before he faced Abraham Lincoln in the legendary 1858 contest for a U.S. Senate seat, Stephen Douglas expressed concern about Lincolns reputation. As Douglas put it: I shall have my hands full. He is the strong man of the party - full of wit, facts, dates - and the best stump speaker, with his droll ways and dry jokes, in the West. Lincolns reputation had been earned early. A classic story about Lincoln described an incident the occurred on the stump when he was 27 years old and still living in New Salem, Illinois. Riding into Springfield, Illinois, to give a stump speech on behalf of the Whig Party in the 1836 elections, Lincoln heard about a local politician, George Forquer, who had switched from Whig to Democrat. Forquer had been generously rewarded, as part of the Spoils System of the Jackson administration, with a lucrative government job. Forquer had built an impressive new house, the first house in Springfield to have a lightning rod. That afternoon Lincoln delivered his speech for the Whigs, and then Forquer stood to speak for the Democrats. He attacked Lincoln, making sarcastic remarks about Lincolns youth. Given the chance to respond, Lincoln said: I am not so young in years as I am in the tricks and trades of a politician. But, live long or die young, I would rather die now, than, like the gentleman, - at this point Lincoln pointed at Forquer - change my politics, and with the change receive an office worth three thousand dollars a year. And then feel obliged to erect a lightning rod over my house to protect a guilty conscience from an offended God. From that day forward Lincoln was respected as a devastating stump speaker.

Symbolic and Important

Symbolic and Important Symbolic and Important Symbolic and Important By Maeve Maddox A reader brought the following quotation from a statement by the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) to my attention: Among the five stores was the Pico Rivera, California Walmart Supercenter, which has been [a] hotbed for worker action. The store is also of symbolic important to the low-wage worker movement I assumed that the adjective important must have been a simple typo for the noun importance, but when I looked for the construction on the Web, I found enough examples to conclude that some speakers may be using the combination â€Å"symbolic important† intentionally: But even outside consideration of annual cycles, four and twelve have great symbolic important.  - The Greathouse [Publishing] Company. Some places also have  symbolic important  for us, as cultural assets, symbolic referents.  - Healthy Living Centres, Geoffey Purves, Taylor Francis, 2007. This film is of highly  symbolic important  because its scenes and juxtapositions are abbreviated rather than carried toward their most logical extension.- The Men Inside, Barry N. Malzberg, Orion Publishing Group, 2011. The Symbolic Important  of Birds in the Quran: Implications for Science and  Technology. - Article title in IFE Journal of Religions, Vol. 6, No2, 2010. In some ways, Varner is right. Japanese defense planners have attached a symbolic important to certain US weapons. Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Something can be both symbolic and important, but not â€Å"of symbolic important.† When someone describes an event or action as being â€Å"of symbolic importance,† the usual meaning is, â€Å"important, but of little practical effect.† Used to describe an object or a place, the phrase means â€Å"important emotionally.† For example: The nine-day visit of the U.S. president to China is only of symbolic importance, especially for the Chinese. No breakthrough is expected of the visit in tackling any of the problematic issues, although there are plenty of them.   The Royal Air Force will hold a service for personnel and families at Lincoln Cathedral, a place of great symbolic importance for the RAF. Another possibility does exist that might explain this strange use of the adjective important in place of the noun importance in the phrase â€Å"symbolic importance.† The error may arise from the use of voice transcription. For example, I found the error in the transcription of an interview on the National Public Radio site. Michel Martin is asking Sylvia Poggioli about an upcoming visit of Israeli and Palestinian leaders to the Vatican: MARTIN: What is the symbolic important of this? In the recorded interview, Martin clearly says â€Å"importance.† If you use the expression when dictating to a voice transcription app, be sure to double-check your spelling in the final draft. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:How to Punctuate References to Dates and TimesConfusing "Passed" with "Past"10 Tips to Improve Your Writing Skills