the Library Bill of Rights), the formation of advocacy organizations, and court decisions have often pushed back against censorship but have not eliminated the problem.
• Changing targets: While the focus of bans has shifted—from perceived obscenity in earlier eras to contemporary concerns around race and LGBTQ+ identities—the underlying tactic remains the restriction of access in the name of protecting community standards or children.
• Backlash and activism: Surges in censorship often spark equally forceful advocacy for intellectual freedom, both from library professionals and civil rights organizations.
Conclusion
The history of library censorship laws in the U.S. is circular, with waves of restriction followed by waves of activism and legal reform. While the legal landscape generally leans toward protecting the right to read, the persistence of new laws and tactics demonstrates that library censorship remains a live—and intensifying—issue in American public life.
Early American book banning practices can be traced directly to the Puritan colonies of the 17th century, where strict social, religious, and political controls were imposed on published material.
The First Banned Book: New English Canaan (1637)
The earliest recorded act of book banning in what is now the United States occurred in 1637 in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Thomas Morton, an English lawyer and early colonist, published New English Canaan in Amsterdam. This three-part text detailed the region’s Indigenous peoples, described the natural resources of Massachusetts, and—most provocatively—delivered a scathing critique of Puritan governance, customs, and treatment of Native Americans. The Puritan authorities, perceiving Morton’s book as a threat to their “city upon a hill” vision and as heretical and politically subversive, promptly banned the work in their colonies. Fewer than 25 original copies survive today, but the incident is recognized as the first official book ban in America.
“Shortly after New English Canaan’s publication, the Puritans outlawed the text in their colonies, committing what historians consider the first act of book banning in the present-day United States.”
Puritan Philosophy and Broader Censorship
While the Puritans fled England seeking religious freedom for themselves, they quickly enacted theocratic laws that enforced conformity and sharply limited dissenting views within their own communities. Massachusetts Bay Colony leadership monitored printed materials for signs of heresy, criticism, or unorthodox religious teachings. Those challenging mainstream Puritan doctrine—such as Roger Williams, Anne Hutchinson, and Quakers—were often banished or severely punished, and publications critical of the government or church were systematically suppressed.
• Book burning: The Puritans not only banned but also burned works they deemed heretical.