This journal, roughly spanning the years from 1868 to 1907, includes essays, quotations, and notes recorded by Andrew J. Haynes. The first several entries comprise essays relating to topics such as Reconstruction-era politics and campaigns, African American suffrage, women's suffrage, and education. Haynes signs these essays under the pseudonym 'Junius', in reference to the 18th-century anonymous polemicist. The following entries include excerpts from speeches given by Haynes, quotations from politicians, a dissertation on the study of law, and notes on global history ranging from Roman history to early American history.

Two share certificates, each for one share of a Presbyterian Church steamboat destined for the Congo River in Africa, are inserted between pages 34 and 35 of the journal. The shares are in the names of Mrs. Willie W. Haynes, Andrew's wife, and Irl P. Haynes, Andrew's son.