The Beauregard Tilden and Hendricks Club of Hazlehurst, Mississippi held its first official meeting on August 12, 1876, unveiling an elaborate constitution designed to mobilize Democratic voters ahead of the pivotal 1876 presidential election. Named after Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard and Democratic candidates Samuel Tilden and Thomas Hendricks, the club adopted a sweeping organizational structure complete with 21 lady managers, a Chief of Artillery overseeing torchlight processions and cannon salutes, and a Registration Committee tasked with challenging unlawful votes. The constitution—reprinted in full across the front page—reveals the intense partisan machinery of the Reconstruction era: the club aimed to enlist both white and colored citizens under the banner of "Reform," collect ten cents monthly from each member through November, and ensure maximum turnout for what was shaping up to be one of the most contentious elections in American history. Officers were elected immediately, with L.O. Bridewell as President, and 79 members signed the roll during the inaugural meeting.

This August 1876 document captures the South at a razor's edge. Reconstruction—the federal military occupation and Republican rule of the former Confederacy—was ending, and white Southerners were organizing furiously to reclaim political power. The Tilden-Hendricks ticket represented the Democratic promise to restore "home rule" and end what they framed as corrupt carpetbagger governance. But this wasn't purely political theater: the explicit mention of organizing both "white citizens and all the colored citizens" masks the darker reality unfolding nationwide. The 1876 election would be decided by three contested Southern states, ultimately settled by the Compromise of 1877—a backroom deal that effectively ended Reconstruction, withdrew federal troops, and abandoned the freedmen to Democratic-dominated state governments. This club meeting, with its references to "reform" and its meticulous voter registration committees, was part of the machinery that would restore white Democratic control and usher in the Jim Crow era.

• The constitution mandates that club funds flow through a 'Finance Committee' collecting exactly ten cents per month from every member from August through November—a deliberate four-month campaign cycle suggesting the election was THE consuming focus of summer 1876, not a distant event.
• A 'Chief of Artillery' position was created specifically to organize 'cannon-ading and salutes' and direct 'fire-works, torch-lights, and illuminations'—revealing that Southern Democratic campaigns relied on paramilitary-style organization with military titles and explosive demonstrations to intimidate and energize.
• The constitution explicitly creates a committee of 21 'Lady managers' to handle decorations, badges, and sashes—a formal political role for women at a time when they couldn't vote, suggesting women were essential campaign infrastructure even while disenfranchised.
• The club was set to 'disband or be continued' immediately after the election, with a meeting scheduled for 'the first Saturday after Election Day'—acknowledging this was a temporary, election-focused militia rather than a permanent civic organization.
• Among 79 signers, at least three are identified by color: 'Geo. Shannon Col'd,' 'William Carter (col),' and 'Nelson Lewis (col)' appear on committees—suggesting selective, tokenistic inclusion of Black members to claim legitimacy while white Democrats controlled the organization completely.

• General P.G.T. Beauregard, whose name graces this club, fired the first shots of the Civil War at Fort Sumter in 1861—and by 1876, he was a living symbol of Lost Cause mythology. The Democrats' choice to name their voter organization after him wasn't subtle: they were invoking the Confederacy itself as a redemptive political force.
• Samuel Tilden, the presidential candidate, was a New York lawyer and reformer running explicitly against Republican 'corruption'—but this club's simultaneous organization of 'tally men,' 'challengers,' and voter registration surveillance suggests the Democrats had no intention of competing fairly. The 1876 election would become one of the most disputed in history, ultimately decided not by ballots but by backroom negotiation.
• The club's bylaws required a quorum of at least 20 members and scheduled mandatory meetings 'at least once every 2 weeks' through November—representing a level of sustained political organization in rural Mississippi that dwarfs most 21st-century campaign infrastructure.
• The document mentions transferring 'property of the club of 1875, consisting of drums, flags, banners, torchligihts, etc.' into a club room—proving this wasn't the first such organization. The Democratic machine had been building continuously since Reconstruction began in 1867.
• The Corresponding Secretary was tasked with making 'semi-monthly Reports to the Presidents of the County and State Executive committees'—revealing a hierarchical, militaristic chain of command stretching from Hazlehurst all the way to the state Democratic Party, fully mobilized for the 1876 campaign.