Benjamin F. Lillard published this broadside, entitled The Congressional Canvass. To the People of the Fifth Congressional District, composed of the Counties of Franklin, Lincoln, Marshall, Moore, Bedford, Coffee, and Rutherford, during his unsuccessful bid for John Bright Morgan's Congressional seat. In it, he introduces himself as a Democratic candidate and outlines his campaign platform, which includes repealing the National Banking Act, repealing tax laws affecting medicine, whiskey, and tobacco, repaying the national debt using Greenback money, repealing the Protective Tariff, building a Southern Pacific Railroad route to the West Coast, and supporting judicial power over the Electoral Vote. Lillard closes the document by describing his career as a well-respected farmer and mentioning his military service with the 45th Tennessee Infantry (CSA) during the Civil War.