Book 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 objectionable according to the standards applied by the censor.
[1] It refers specifically to attempts to remove or curtail access to a work for a whole population – such as all the children at a school or all the patrons of a public library – and does not include an individual’s decision that a book is not appropriate for themselves or their dependents.
"[27] Since 2021, the rise in book challenges nationwide has had a "chilling effect," leading to increased self-censorship (Knox calls this "passive censorship") by many institutions, often at the level of school districts.
[36] In Washington, D.C., where the federal government has direct jurisdiction, the act also made it a misdemeanor, punishable by fine and imprisonment, to sell, give away, or have in possession any "obscene" publication.
[38] The banning of books became more prevalent during the twentieth century as modernist and progressive writers such as James Joyce, Theodore Dreiser, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and John Steinbeck began their literary careers.
For example, Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms depicts the grim realities of World War I, as well as the story of the two lovers, Frederic Henry and Catherine Barkley, which includes graphic details of a childbirth gone awry.
An article in a 1929 issue of The Harvard Crimson stated: "it has become so tiresome to reproach Boston for their constant repression of creative work, that we are beginning to surrender in despair.
Finally, in 1933 in Boston, Judge John M. Woosley overturned a federal ban of James Joyce’s Ulysses, ruling that although the deposition of sex should be allowed in “serious literature".
This was revised and adopted by the American Library Association just a year later and has expanded to include application to “book banning, gender and race discrimination and exhibit spaces”.
The report noted that much of the censorship was directed towards books featuring LGBT and racial minority perspectives, and described a growing trend of harassment and intimidation of librarians.
"[56] Finally, he comments on the library, saying it is a distinct institution as it represents the First Amendment's "role in affording the public access to discussion, debate and the dissemination of information and ideas.
[65] "Sexually explicit"[66] material was the most frequent cause of book challenges in the decade from 1990 to 2000, according to People for the American Way, while "offensive language"[66] was responsible for the second-most number.
A few examples of this type of censorship are J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
Sova suggests that censors have sought to ban these books because they fear that the rebellious nature of the characters will lead children to follow them, meaning they will have no respect for their parents, the law or teachers.
A couple examples are The Hate U Give for common use of the f word and Eleanor & Park for vulgar language in the portrayal of the main characters’ difficult home and school environments.
[83] One of the most contentious eras for religious book censorship in the United States was the early 20th century, during a period of particular tension between public libraries and the Roman Catholic Church.
[86] In response, the parents of Dakota Counts, another student, brought forth a legal challenge, saying that the rule obstructed their child's First Amendment right to receive information.
[88] Operation Dark Heart, a 2010 memoir by U.S. Army intelligence officer Lt. Col Anthony Shaffer, was the subject of attempts by the Defense Department to censor information that the book revealed, even after it had already been distributed free of changes.
[93] The novel was considered objectionable because it deals with racial injustice, class systems, gender roles, loss of innocence while discussing violence, rape, incest and authority, while using strong language.
[95] In July 1996, the Superintendent of the Moss Point School District in Mississippi announced To Kill a Mockingbird would be reviewed by a group of parents, community members and teachers after a complaint came from Reverend Greg Foster about the novel's racial descriptions and discussion of sexual activity.
[96] In 1960, The China Lobby in American Politics, by scholar Ross Y. Koen, was suppressed by the State Department, the Central Intelligence Agency and the Federal Bureau of Narcotics at the behest of the ruling Chinese Nationalist Party of Taiwan.
[105] School board attorney Victoria Sweeney presented evidence for why the novels should be kept in the classroom, noting that they encourage children's fascination with reading and explore themes such as good triumphing over evil.
[109] Suzanne Collins's The Hunger Games is a young adult dystopian novel that tells a story from the perspective of Katniss Everdeen, a 16-year-old living under a strict dictatorship in a post-apocalyptic world.
"[114] Founded by members the American Library Association on November 20, 1969, the Freedom to Read Foundation focuses more on the legal issues regarding book censorship.
[119][120] By the year 2000, the intention of this event expanded to "bring[ing] together the entire book community; librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types, in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular.
Its most current goal is "to teach the importance of our first Amendment rights and the power of literature, and to draw attention to the danger that exists when restraints are imposed availability of information in a free society".
The American Association of School Librarians stance on all filtering is that it is important for students to go past "the requirements set for by the Federal Communications Commission in its Child Internet Protection Act".
Tom Minnery, vice president of Focus on the Family, claims that "the ALA has irresponsibly perpetrated the 'banned' books lie for too long" and that "nothing is 'banned'" and Ruth Graham from Slate magazine agrees.
"[126] The ALA protects him, stating that "challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others.
[128] Jason Reynolds cowrote two of the young adult novels—All American Boys and Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You—included on the 2020 and 2019 ALA's top ten challenged books annual list.
