<P> "The buck stops here" is a phrase that was popularized by U.S. President Harry S. Truman, who kept a sign with that phrase on his desk in the Oval Office . The phrase refers to the notion that the President has to make the decisions and accept the ultimate responsibility for those decisions . Truman received the sign as a gift from a prison warden who was also an avid poker player . It is also the motto of the U.S. Naval Aircraft Carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN - 75). </P> <P> President Jimmy Carter arranged to borrow the sign from the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum . Footage from Carter's "Address to the Nation on Energy" shows the sign on the desk during his administration . </P> <P> The reverse of the sign reads, "I'm from Missouri ." This is a reference to Truman's home state, as well as Willard Duncan Vandiver's statement, "I'm from Missouri . You've got to show me". </P>

Where did the phrase the buck stops here come from