Book censorship in the United States

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Book censorship in the United States has occurred since European settlement of New England, though censorship increased in volume and intensity in the 20th and 21st centuries, especially in the 2020s. The first known instance of book censorship in what is now the United States took place in the 1630s in modern-day Massachusetts, when Puritans sought to outlaw New English Canaan. While specific titles caused bouts of book censorship, with Uncle Tom's Cabin frequently cited as the first book subject to a national ban, censorship of reading materials and their distribution remained sporadic in the United States until the Comstock Laws in 1873. In the early 20th century, book censorship became a more common practice and subject of public debate. Throughout the 20th and early 21st centuries, there have been waves of attempts at widespread book censorship in the US. Beginning in the 2020s, the country has seen a dramatic increase of attempted and successful censorship, with a 63% rise in reported...

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