Some friends of ours live next to a property owned by the Willard family — of the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C. The other day while watching the news, there was a segment on lobbyists and the conversation got around to the term “lobbyist” originating in the Willard Hotel. Claire said that the term’s origin was a well known fact…. well, the “fact” is that I’d never heard it before. But without giving it much thought, it seemed to make some amount of sense to me.
But — I thought maybe I should do a little extensive research and check it out.
The term “lobbyist” in common political speak is someone who solicits the attention of an elected official or government agency in the hope of receiving preferential treatment in legislation, or regulations.
Anyhow, I found plenty of material to support what Claire said — the most popular story is that President Ulysses S. Grant would frequent the Willard Hotel to enjoy brandy and a cigar, and while he was there, he’d be hounded by petitioners asking for legislative favors or jobs. It is said that President Grant coined the term by referring to the petitioners as “those damn lobbyists.” The story has been told and published by the Washington Post, the American Society of News Editors, and most often by the Public Relations Director of the Willard Hotel.
It is kind of a fun story and I’m sure it’s done a lot to increase visitors and revenue for the Willard Hotel. But — the story isn’t really true. President Grand did visit the Willard Hotel and enjoyed his brandy and a cigar, but he did not coin the term “lobbyist.”
The term “to lobby” first appeared in print in the United States in the 1830s. President Grant was in office from 1869-1877.
The term is believed to have originated in the British Parliament and referred to the lobbies outside the chambers where a lot of wheeling and dealing took place. “Lobbyist” was in common use in Britain in the 1840s. The Oxford English Dictionary indicates that the term was used as early as 1640 in England to describe the lobbies that were open to constituents to interact with their representatives.
Once again, extensive research ruins a really good story. But that’s one of the good things about history — it’s full of so many stories to tell, some of which take on a life of their own, even if the facts don’t necessarily back them up.
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