We have other connotations for the word *"amanuensis" relevant to the secretarial, academic, religious, job
titles in the commercial sector, and the Executive Office of the President of
the United States.
Moreover this is my favorite
word, but it’s not easy to find unless you know how to spell it, because even
the most popular thesauruses don’t show it in the listings for secretary or
administrative assistant.
For a word that **originated in
Rome to describe a slave at his master’s reach, "amanuensis" has come a long
way toward more modern times, with a meaning to indicate managing schedules,
staff and a close aide to the President, therefore precursor to White House
Chief of Staff.
However, at the beginning of our country's foundation, Presidents like Thomas Jefferson had
one secretary with the title of "amanuensis," and up to James Buchanan, those
secretaries were paid personally so this was position given to a relative, but
James Polk appointed his wife.
And from "amanuensis" to **Secretary to the President and further to the many included office personnel
aspect duly legislated by Congress in 1939 during Franklin Roosevelt’s second
term with the official title, Executive Office of the President, with all
included reporting directly to the White House Office.
More interestingly, the sole "amanuensis" title was expanded from **Secretary to the President to include
more than one as well as a photographer and other office personnel.
When used in the 20th
century as Secretary the President, the historical context is well
documented.
At the head of the list of those "amanuensis" who were upgrades yet best known from their affiliation to a
President of the United States, oddly, the most faithful and best known
Secretary to the President was the long term personal secretary to Richard
Nixon, ****Mary Rose Woods.
Although Ms. Rose is famous for
her ***long arm reach that somehow managed to erase a portion of the Nixon
White House tapes, which per her testimony during the Watergate scandal was
totally unplanned and not directed by the embattled President Nixon, who resigned
rather than be impeached.
Now in 2017, POTUS 45 has
elevated his long term assistant Hope Hicks into the Executive Office of the
President, to become part of the historical record, and no doubt Wikipedia will
devote a special reference to her, because she has to testify about what she
knows about the Trump campaign’s possible Russian collusion to the Special
Counsel Robert Mueller.
And per the upgraded aspect of the original "amanuensis," Ms. Hicks has recently assumed the position of White House Director
of Communications, which puts her within the organizational chart of the
congressional directive re Executive Office of the President.
Nevertheless, unless the moral progress of
mankind regresses backward, don’t expect the word "amanuensis" to refer to a
slave within arms reach ever again, in fact, by the end of the 21st
century, it might be that this "amanuensis" word will no longer be in use, and
the connotation in all its aspects re "Executive Secretary" will be more normally known as "Executive Assistant."
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