I know what it is, but where does it come from? Does it actually go back to a time when candidates would literally stand on tree stumps? And even if that’s the case, how did it come to be associated with a speech that a candidate gives over and over and over again?
It is, indeed, derived from the days when there were a lot of newly-settled rural areas in this country, and candidates would “go on the stump,” traveling to these areas to get the rubes’ votes, standing on sections of tree trunks that were used as speaker’s platforms.
Since the candidates were invariably addressing small crowds, they would end up giving speeches to dozens and dozens of groups of people. It would be tough to come up with a new speech for each group of 30 farmers, so the candidate would have his canned speech for these events, his “stump speech.” Addressing urban crowds, the candidate would be giving fewer speeches to much larger audiences, and could afford to tailor his message to each audience.
No cite, sorry, but I recently heard (was it on NPR?) that the term originated with Abraham Lincoln, who stood on tree stumps (like he needed to be seen over a crowd) to deliver his speech, which was usually the same, perhaps with a few modifications and/or local references.
Giving exactly the same speech over and over, in that time of limited media, was fairly common, as the material would be fresh for every audience.
As soon as you heard the term used in connection with a famous name you should have jumped up and down and screamed “urban legend!”
While the exact term “stump speech” is only cited first in 1820 by the OED, the generally understood meaning goes back to late 1700’s cites.
And it generally meant speeches by folks who were touting themselves or their issue, and laying it on in a rather dramatic fashion. This is certainly the meaning that it acquired by the time of Lincoln.