Why Do We Need Book Censorship?

Library censorship is not a new issue in the United States. For nearly two decades, parents, school boards, teachers, students, and different religious groups have worked to ban various books seen as inappropriate or offensive. According to the American Library Association, over 11,300 books have been challenged since just 1989. Specific books and authors have been repeatedly targeted over the years such as Mark Twain, J.K. Rowling, John Green, and Judy Blume. The First Amendment grants protections for authors against book banning. Not only does the First Amendment grant protections for the authors of the book, but it also protects the right of students to read whatever information they please and for teachers to add the books they wish to
their curriculum. The Supreme Court and lower court systems have weighed in over the years, giving protections to these students, as well as giving rights to school boards to dictate the books in the libraries and taught in classes if there is educational reasoning for the decision (Minarcini v. Strongsville (Ohio) City School District). The main issue that book banning addresses is author and book censorship.
Censorship is defined as “the suppression or prohibition of any parts of books, films, news, etc. that are considered obscene, politically unacceptable, or a threat to security” (Oxford Dictionary). Oftentimes, people disagree with the ideas expressed in books by authors and then take steps to censor these ideas through book challenging. Book challenging is usually done to protect children or other people from ideas that someone’s perceives as harmful, but in doing so goes against our protections under the First Amendment (American Library Association). Book challenging and banning today usually comes from school boards and parents, not the U.S. government. There has been a history of government censorship of books and pieces of writing, but court cases have overturned these because this type of censorship is seen as unconstitutional. This unconstitutionality has not stopped book banning or challenging though by religious groups, parents, and school boards. The main censorship issue today is students being told what ideas they can or cannot be exposed to, which has a negative effect on their learning experience. Today, it is seen as unacceptable by the courts to try and ban a book through challenging simply because you do not agree with the information or ideas in
it. Challenging a book and banning a book are not the same thing. According to the American Library Association, a challenge “is defined as a formal, written complaint, filed with a library or school requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness”. In other words, if someone wants to get rid of a particular book in a library or from being a part of curriculum then they must first challenge the book. The majority of challenges are unsuccessful and there are many challenges or even bans that go unreported (American Library Association). Also, the majority of books either do not make it to be completely banned in schools or they are banned and then returned to the libraries or curriculum after a court rules on the case. Due to the under reporting, a lot of the times books will be taken from libraries or curriculum without coverage therefore there is little to no fight or resistance. The majority of books in the United States are challenged or complained about, not completely banned in 2017, which is why the issue is not taken as seriously as it was during the 1900s when book banning was the main priority. According to the Office of Intellectual Freedom, these are the top three reasons that a book or piece of material is challenged:
1. the material was “sexually explicit”
2. the material contained “offensive language”
3. the material was “unsuited to any age group” A majority of the time, books are seen to be unacceptable and inappropriate for the particular age group, which is why books are challenged in school libraries. Parents think that the books shouldn't be accessible for their children due to these reasons, which is why they aren’t trying to get the United States government to ban them particularly, but just their school or library. Complete censorship or banning of the book by the government would ultimately be seen as unconstitutional, and while it is acceptable for parents to readily choose the material that their children can and cannot read, it is not acceptable for parents to censor what all children read or have access to. The importance of First Amendment protections for books relates to the marketplace of ideas for students. Kids growing up in schools should have the opportunity to be exposed to many differing opinions in the forms of lectures, books, curriculum, and other material. By banning books from libraries, this takes away this opportunity for students to learn. While the parent of a child can restrict what shows they allow them to watch, what movies they let them see, what music they listen to, and what books they read, schools do not have the same protections. Under the First Amendment, authors of books have the freedom of speech to write and publish material as they please. This protection expands to students and the protection from censorship under the First Amendment.

HISTORY OF CENSORSHIP IN THE U.S. The concept of censorship by the government is not a new one. Since institutions began to form, governments have been worried about what effect certain types of ideas or opinions would have own its people. Out of this fear came the idea of censorship, and in the United States this began to really grow with legislation and book banning in the nineteenth century. As materials became more readily available to citizens, governments began to take interest in the types of things their citizens were being exposed to. Government institutions ultimately were worried what certain types of literature and ideas might do to their citizens and how it might have an influence on the way they behave. Many historians consider Uncle Tom’s Cabin, written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, to be one of the most controversial pieces of literature and even the first book to be banned on a major scale (Winship). Uncle Tom’s Cabin sold more copies than any book except the Bible in the nineteenth century in America. The book displayed how horrible slavery was and therefore some saw it as encouraging America’s people to turn away from slavery. The Confederacy at the time did not appreciate this and banned the book for its negativity towards an institution so embedded in their everyday lives. If people were able to read books that criticized slavery then it would encourage them to turn against the Confederacy, which would be hurtful to their institution. The book had such an impact during the fight to end slavery that when President Abraham Lincoln met Harriet Beecher Stowe, he is believed to have said “so you’re the little woman who wrote the book that made this great war” (Stowe 203). The New York Society for the Suppression of Vice was led by Anthony Comstock, who would go on to dictate the things Americans could read or view for years. The Comstock Law banned “the mailing, importation, and transportation of any printed material that contained lewd