Although this was the first, it wouldn't be the last time a book was banned in America. Modern censorship was pioneered by Anthony Comstock, founder of the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice in 1872. He was responsible for the "Comstock Law," passed a year later by Congress, which banned the mailing of works deemed to be obscene. Over the next 40 years, it is estimated that over 120 tons of printed works were confiscated. The "obscene" works that were so dangerous? Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, Arabian Nights and works by F. Scott Fitzgerald, to name a few.
It took the specter of Nazi book-burning to show Congress how wrong the law was. It was repealed in 1933.
Of course, we know that the possibility of censorship continues to exist, even today. And although we celebrate our right to read every year with Banned Books Week, the fight continues. When Judith Krug founded BBW, she wasn't only fighting against the public challenges to ban books. Because a public challenge draws attention, and with enough attention a book may not be banned. Ms. Krug was also fighting against the silent banning of books. You know, the teacher, librarian or parent who will quietly remove a book for someone else's "protection." She estimated that for every one publicly challenged book (and there have been over 4,000 challenges in the last decade alone), there are four to five that go unreported. That's four or five books that disappear from the shelf and no one notices.
We should all celebrate our right to read - anything we want, any time we want. And we should exercise these rights often!