When early European settlers were moving west and clearing the land, every farm had an abundance of tree stumps in their fields.
“Barnstorming” politicians who looked for a place of prominence to be seen and heard by the gathered electorate would invariably find a large tree stump to stand on from which he would make his pitch.
This gave us the expression “on the stump,” which is still used to describe a politician seeking election.
The term is often used for a political candidate on a speaking tour.
