In 1975 it was merged with another organization to form Community Resources for Justice, a group that promotes prison reform and rights for formerly incarcerated persons.

At the height of the society's power in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Boston Public Library kept books that had been deemed objectionable in a locked room, publishers and booksellers held back publications for fear of the organization's influence with prosecutors and judges, and plays were performed in a bowdlerized "Boston Version".

The society's activities contributed to the popularization of the phrase "Banned in Boston", which became a target of parody and a marketing slogan.

The New England Society for the Suppression of Vice was founded in 1878 by a meeting of Boston residents following a speech given by Anthony Comstock.

In 1922, the society had Robert Keable's Simon Called Peter removed from a library, and in 1923, used its influence to suppress distribution of Floyd Dell's Janet March.

In Boston, with police, press, and a large crowd in attendance, Mencken sold a copy of the magazine to society secretary J. Frank Chase.

Dwight Spaulding Strong (1906–2004) became director of the society in 1948, and redirected its focus, choosing to emphasize action on gambling and other vices, the rehabilitation of criminals, and the study of social issues that lead to crime.