Answer time! 

What is the origin of this phrase? "I'm sumped." 

Where does that saying come from?

Here it is. 

Back in the very early days of this country, the settlers were pushing westward from the east coast colonies, so into Kentucky and Tennessee, very early into the push to the west. And as they were doing that, there was a need to make routes passable for horses and wagons. The areas they were pushing through were heavily forested, of course, before the settlers got there. The American Indians were already here, of course. But they in such a way that they did not need to remove trees.

So, the government went through these areas and they cut down trees to make room for roads. Some of these trees were huge, and the stumps could not be removed. It's difficult to remove them today, but back then, it was nearly impossible. 

They left the stumps, and in some areas, there were so many stumps, and because the roads got washed with rains and became muddy messes, it was possible to get into an area where you couldn't move your wagon at all, because between the ruts in the road and the stumps all around you, your travel was impeded.

And when that happened, you were "stumped."