In 1637, the Puritans in Quincy, Massachusetts banned Mr. Thomas Morton’s New England Canaan because he criticized the Puritan’s treatment toward Indigenous people, according to smithsonianmag.com. Since the seventeenth century, the censorship of literature has remained a relevant issue in the United States (US). The American Library Association (ALA), an 150 year old non-profit library organization, reported that in 2023, schools, libraries, and governments across the US targeted and censored over 4,240 book titles, according to ala.org. Additionally, Poets Essayists Novelists (PEN) America, a non-profit organization which fights for freedom of expression, found that public schools across the US banned over 10,000 books in the 2023-2024 school year, according to theguardian.com. In fact, literature that discusses sexual orientation, gender, race, and history were the topics with the most censorship attempts, according to pen.org. Although some US administrators and politicians fear that “mature” topics will harm young readers, the themes listed above do not endanger young minds but rather enlighten them. Indeed, the censorship of books and ideas not only breaches the First Amendment but suppresses voices, endangers civil liberties, and inhibits the advancement of progress. How can individuals make informed opinions about the world if not all truths are readily available?
Throughout human history, those in power have outlawed some of the most revered and taught books. Sixteenth and seventeenth century governments banned Mr. William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, The Merchant in Venice, and Romeo and Juliet due to their sexual content, profane language, and “mature” topics, according to freedomforum.org. Additionally, in the last few centuries, other notable works of literature that those in power have banned include The Bluest Eye by Ms. Toni Morrison, Beloved by Ms. Morrison, The Kite Runner by Mr. Khaled Hosseini, Brave New World by Mr. Aldous Huxley, To Kill a Mockingbird by Ms. Harper Lee, Of Mice and Men by Mr. John Steinbeck, The Handmaid’s Tale by Ms. Margaret Atwood, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mr. Mark Twain, The Things They Carried by Mr. Tim O’Brien, 1984 by Mr. George Orwell, Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl by Miss Anne Frank, The Awakening by Ms. Kate Chopin, and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Ms. Maya Angelou, according to ala.org. Certainly, all these texts, which US educators often teach in schools, reveal crucial truths about reality and remain “classics” for a reason. The bans implore the question: Does banning books create more problems and distrust than they seek to solve?
The US Constitution states that “Congress shall make no law […] abridging the freedom of speech,” according to constitution.congress.gov. Thus, by law, the Constitution guarantees that governments of all levels in the US cannot outlaw any piece of literature. However, February 7, the US Department of Defense Education Activity declared that it would outlaw and remove any “books potentially related to gender ideology.” The ALA has received reports that the current federal government is enforcing libraries on military installations to remove displays of Black History Month, according to ala.org. Both of these instances of censorship infringe upon the rights and civil liberties the Founding Fathers guaranteed in the Constitution. Not only do they also impede young minds from formulating balanced and informed opinions, but it is simply unconstitutional.
Works of literature have often been the source of change throughout history. The Narrative and Life of Frederick Douglass by Mr. Frederick Douglass helped ignite the Abolitionist Movement in the US during the mid-nineteenth century. The Jungle by Mr. Upton Sinclair revealed the grueling working conditions of factory life, eventually causing Congress to pass the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906. The Feminine Mystique by Ms. Betty Friedan challenged the roles enforced upon women as housewives and mothers and sparked the Second Wave Feminist Movement of the 1980s, according to businessinsider.com. Without these important works of literature, society would not be as “advanced” as it is today. Progress demands that the government silences no voices, and by proxy, no books.
Ultimately, words have the power to create societal change. By outlawing and banning certain titles because their topics are too “mature” or “profane,” those in power not only breach the civil liberties laid out in the Constitution but also allow society to regress. In order to create a free and more informed society, all books need to be available to readers.
Featured Image by Emily Shull ’25
