A stump speech is a standard political speech given by politicians, dating back to the 1800s when they would travel from place to place. The speech usually consists of their plans for political office and thoughts on America. Today, the repetition of a politician’s speech can be considered part of their truncated speech. This can confuse people or make them think the candidate has nothing new to say. However, if a candidate deviates from their standard speech, it will be covered by the news. Stump speeches cannot provide detailed information about a candidate’s plans, but are used to get people excited about their candidacy. In minstrel shows, stump speeches were used to mock political discourse with sexist and racist undertones.
A stump speech is the standard political speech of a politician and the term dates back to American politics in the 1800s. During that time, politicians would travel from one area to another in what is now called “stumping.” Some politicians actually used a tree stump or piece of sawn log to stand on, so they could be better seen by those who came to watch their speeches.
Usually, a politician would give pretty much the same speech in different areas, and this speech usually consisted of the things he planned to do in political office and comments on his thoughts on America. Today all the things that a politician repeats over and over again can be considered part of his truncated speech. Inspirational words or phrases that are used repeatedly are also part of candidate stock.
When the term originated, usually getting the word out about a politician’s platforms had to be done by traveling and through newspapers. The repetition of stumpy speeches didn’t bother most people, as they were unlikely to hear speeches more than once or twice at most. Today, this has changed significantly with 24-hour news cycles and the proliferation of news available on the Internet. If you happen to watch several speeches by the same candidate, some parts may be new each time, but most of it will be the standard stump speech you’ve probably heard or seen before. Parts of a stump speech even turn into things like debates.
This repetition can confuse people or make them think the candidate has nothing new to say. However, that’s not always the case, and often what the news covers is whenever a candidate deviates from his truncated speech. If the candidate announces a new policy or changes key elements of his “classic” speech, those who follow the news will surely know about it. It can be quite a rhetorical process when trying to incorporate new material with old stump speech, particularly if the candidate radically changes opinions.
It’s also important to consider that no truncated speech can provide extremely detailed information about a candidate’s plans. There might be some details, but politicians are mostly drawing a big picture of their policy orientation and ideas for their office. They’re also using the speech as an opportunity to get people excited about their candidacy.
One use of the term stump speech is very different. In minstrel shows in particular, blackface performers mocked standard political discourse, particularly after the Civil War. These stump talks were long comedic oratorios that poked fun at real issues and were meant to amuse. However, many would find examples of minstrel speech particularly repugnant, given their strong sexist and racist undertones.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
