Book censorship in the United States: Difference between revisions

[[Book censorship]] is the removal, suppression, or restricted circulation of literary, artistic, or educational material on the grounds that theseit areis morally or otherwise objectionable according to the standards applied by the censor first appeared, in what is now known as the United States, in 1624 in modern-day Quincy, Massachusetts.<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|last=Reichman|first=Henry |publisher=ALA Books |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-8389-0798-6 |location=Chicago|url=https://archive.org/details/censorshipselect00henr}}</ref> The first instance of book censorship in what is now known as the United States, took place in 1624 in modern-day Quincy, Massachusetts.<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> While specific titles caused bouts of book censorship, with ''Uncle Tom’s Cabin'' frequently cited as the first book subject to a national ban, censorship of reading materials and their distribution remained sporadic in the United States until the Comstock Laws in 1873.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Blakemore |first=Erin |date=2023-04-24 |title=The history of book bans—and their changing targets—in the U.S. |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/history-of-book-bans-in-the-united-states |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=National Geographic |language=en}}</ref> It was in the early 20th century that book censorship became a more common practice and source of public debate.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brady |first=Amy |date=2016-09-22 |title=The History (and Present) of Banning Books in America |url=https://lithub.com/the-history-and-present-of-banning-books-in-america/ |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=Literary Hub |language=en-US}}</ref> Throughout the 20th and early 21st centuries there have been waves of attempts at widespread book censorship in the US. Since 2022, the country has seen a dramatic increase of attempted and successful censorship, with a 63% rise in reported cases between 2022 and 2023, including a substantial rise in challenges filed to hundreds of books at a time.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Italie |first=Hillel |title=New censorship report finds that over 4,000 books were targeted in US libraries in 2023 |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/books/2024/03/14/american-library-association-2023-report-book-censorship/72975557007/ |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=USA TODAY |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Tovia |date=2024-03-14 |title=American Library Association report says book challenges soared in 2023 |url=https://www.npr.org/2024/03/14/1238678902/book-bans-libraries-american-library-association-schools |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=National Public Radio}}</ref> In recent years, about three-fourths of books subject to censorship in the US are for children, pre-teenagers, and teenagers.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Creamer |first=Ella |date=2023-09-22 |title=‘Eating away at democracy’: book bans in US public schools rise by a third in a year |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/sep/22/democracy-book-bans-us-public-schools-rise |access-date=2024-04-27 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>