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{{short description|Censorship of books in the United States}}
{{see also|Censorship|Censorship in the United States}}
[[Book censorship]] is the removal, suppression, or restricted circulation of literary, artistic, or educational material on the grounds that it is morally or otherwise objectionable according to the standards applied by the censor.<ref name=":8">{{Cite book |last=Reichman |first=Henry |url=https://archive.org/details/censorshipselect00henr |title=Censorship and Selection: Issues and Answers for Schools. Revised |publisher=ALA Books |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-8389-0798-6 |location=Chicago}}</ref> The first instance of book censorship in what is now known as the United States, took place in
In the debate over book censorship in the United States, "freedom to read" proponents cite traditions and legal precedent building upon the Constitution of the United States, particularly the First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendments.<ref>{{Cite web |last=American Library Association |date=2008-06-13 |title=First Amendment and Censorship |url=https://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/censorship |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=American Library Association |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-09-20 |title=The Freedom to Read {{!}} ACLU of Oregon |url=https://www.aclu-or.org/en/freedom-read |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=www.aclu-or.org |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |last2= |last3= |date=2024-01-11 |title=From Iowa to Florida, national lawsuits against local book bans begin to gain traction |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books/story/2024-01-11/from-iowa-to-florida-lawsuits-against-book-bans-begin-to-gain-traction |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Magazine |first=Smithsonian |last2=Klimek |first2=Chris |title=A Brief History of Banned Books in America |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/a-brief-history-of-banned-books-in-america-180983011/ |access-date=2024-04-27 |website=Smithsonian Magazine |language=en}}</ref> Much of the justification for censorship over the years has cenetered on definitions of obscenity and questions about the perceived moral qualities of various books’ content.<ref name="Schaper">{{Cite web |last=Schaper |first=Arthur |date=2023-05-20 |title=Op-ed: MassResistance continues fight |url=https://www.newsandsentinel.com/opinion/local-columns/2023/05/op-ed-massresistance-continues-fight/ |access-date=2024-04-27 |website=News and Sentinel (Parkersburg, WV) |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>Steele, Jennifer. (2020). A History of Censorship in the United States. Journal of Intellectual Freedom and Privacy. 5. 6-19. </ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2016-10-25 |title=Banned Book FAQ |url=https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/banned-books-qa |access-date=2024-04-26 |website=American Library Asociation |language=en}}</ref><ref name="wood">{{Cite news |last=Wood |first=Sarah |date=2022-05-17 |title=Book Bans: What to Know |url=https://www.usnews.com/education/k12/articles/book-bans-what-to-know |access-date=2024-04-20 |work=US News and World Report}}</ref>
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Today, the target of book censorship may be either a print, electronic, or audiobook, or a curriculum that includes such sources.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ferri |first=Catherine E. |date=2024-02-26 |title=Book Banning Goes Digital: Libraries Suspending Their E-Book Services and the Complications It Poses for First Amendment Doctrine |url=https://law.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Publish_27-STLR-127-2024_Book-Banning-Goes-Digital.pdf |journal=Stanford Technology Law Review |volume=27 |pages=127-179}}</ref><ref name="Italie" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Gadd |first=Chris |date=2022-09-19 |title=Williamson County library backs 'Banned Book Week' after schools remove book |url=https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/williamson/2022/09/20/williamson-county-library-banned-book-week-after-schools-remove-book/69498840007/ |access-date=2024-04-26 |website=The Tennessean |language=en-US}}</ref> Targeted texts may be held by a business such as a bookstore; a library, either a public library or one located in a school or university; or the school or university as a whole.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Webb |first=Susan L. |date=2023-08-08 |title=Book Banning |url=https://firstamendment.mtsu.edu/article/book-banning/ |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=The Free Speech Center at Middle Tennissee State University |language=en-US}}</ref> The entity requesting censorship may be an organization, private individual, or government official.<ref name=":0" />
Several professional organizations
== Definition and terminology ==
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# Removal: abolishing certain books from the library, classroom, or bookstore shelves;
# Relocation: such as creating an "adults only" section of a library;
# Restriction: such as keeping a book in an
# Redaction: striking through or covering sections of materials so they cannot be seen by readers.<ref name=":18">{{Cite book |last=Knox |first=Emily J.M. |title=Foundations of Intellectual Freedom |publisher=American Library Association |year=2022 |isbn=9780838937457 |location=United States |pages=6-7}}</ref>
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==History==
Many historians beleive that the first book to be censored in what would become the United States was Thomas Morton's ''New English Canaan''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Whitacre |first=Lindsay |title=Research Guides: Banned Books: History of Book Banning |url=https://guides.library.harvard.edu/c.php?g=1269000&p=9306840 |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=guides.library.harvard.edu |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":19" /> Published in 1637, the work criticized the [[Puritans]] of the [[Plymouth Colony]].<ref name=":20" /> Puritan leaders outlawed the book.<ref name=":19" />
During the 17th century, a typical form of book censorship in the United States was [[book burning]]. In October 1650, [[William Pynchon]]'s pamphlet, ''The Meritorious Price of Our Redemption'', was criticized and promptly burned by the [[Puritans|Puritan]] government. This book burning in [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]] is often referred to and even considered the "first book burning in America".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.newseuminstitute.org/first-amendment-center/topics/freedom-of-speech-2/libraries-first-amendment-overview/banned-books/|title=Banned books {{!}} Freedom Forum Institute|website=www.newseuminstitute.org|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170611032731/www.newseuminstitute.org/first-amendment-center/topics/freedom-of-speech-2/libraries-first-amendment-overview/banned-books/|archive-date=June 11, 2017|access-date=October 13, 2021}}</ref>
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