Banned Books That Shaped America | Banned Books Week
The Library of Congress created an exhibit, "Books that Shaped America," that explores books that "have had a profound effect on American life." Below is a list of books from that exhibit that have been banned/challenged.
(To learn more about challenges to books since the inception of Banned Books Week, check out the timeline created by ALA.)
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain, 1884
The first ban of Mark Twains American classic in Concord, MA in 1885 called it trash and suitable only for the slums. Objections to the book have evolved, but only marginally. Twains book is one of the most-challenged of all time and is frequently challenged even today because of its frequent use of the word nigger. Otherwise it is alleged the book is racially insensitive, oppressive, and perpetuates racism.
The Autobiography of Malcolm X, Malcolm X and Alex Haley, 1965 (Grove Press)
Objectors have called this seminal work a how-to-manual for crime and decried because of anti-white statements present in the book. The book presents the life story of Malcolm Little, also known as Malcolm X, who was a human rights activist and who has been called one of the most influential Americans in recent history.
Beloved, Toni Morrison, 1987
Again and again, this Pulitzer-prize winning novel by perhaps the most influential African-American writer of all time is assigned to high school English students. And again and again, parental complaints are lodged against the book because of its violence, sexual content and discussion of bestiality.
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, Dee Brown, 1970
Subtitled An Indian History of the American West, this book tells the history of United States growth and expansion into the West from the point of view of Native Americans. This book was banned by a school district official in Wisconsin in 1974 because the book might be polemical and they wanted to avoid controversy at all costs. If theres a possibility that something might be controversial, then why not eliminate it, the official stated.
The Call of the Wild, Jack London, 1903
Generally hailed as Jack Londons best work, The Call of the Wild is commonly challenged for its dark tone and bloody violence. Because it is seen as a man-and-his-dog story, it is sometimes read by adolescents and subsequently challenged for age-inappropriateness. Not only have objections been raised here, the book was banned in Italy, Yugoslavia and burned in bonfires in Nazi Germany in the late 1920s and early 30s because it was considered too radical.
Catch-22, Joseph Heller, 1961
A school board in Strongsville, OH refused to allow the book to be taught in high school English classrooms in 1972. It also refused to consider Cats Cradle as a substitute text and removed both books from the school library. The issue eventually led to a 1976 District Court ruling overturning the ban in Minarcini v. Strongsville.
The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger, 1951
Young Holden, favorite child of the censor. Frequently removed from classrooms and school libraries because it is unacceptable, obscene, blasphemous, negative, foul, filthy, and undermines morality. And to think Holden always thought people never notice anything.
Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury, 1953
Rather than ban the book about book-banning outright, Venado Middle school in Irvine, CA utilized an expurgated version of the text in which all the hells and damns were blacked out. Other complaints have said the book went against objectors religious beliefs. The books author, Ray Bradbury, died this year.
For Whom the Bell Tolls, Ernest Hemingway, 1940
Shortly after its publication the U.S. Post Office, which purpose was in part to monitor and censor distribution of media and texts, declared the book nonmailable. In the 1970s, eight Turkish booksellers were tried for spreading propaganda unfavorable to the state because they had published and distributed the text. This wasnt Hemingways only banned book A Farewell to Arms and Across the River and Into the Trees were also censored domestically and abroad in Ireland, South Africa, Germany and Italy.
Gone With the Wind, Margaret Mitchell, 1936
The Pulitzer-prize winning novel (which three years after its publication became an Academy-Award Winning film) follows the life of the spoiled daughter of a southern plantation owner just before and then after the fall of the Confederacy and decline of the South in the aftermath of the Civil War. Critically praised for its thought-provoking and realistic depiction of ante- and postbellum life in the South, it has also been banned for more or less the same reasons. Its realism has come under fire, specifically its realistic portrayal though at times perhaps tending toward optimistic -- of slavery and use of the words nigger and darkies.
The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck, 1939
Kern County, California has the great honor both of being the setting of Steinbecks novel and being the first place where it was banned (1939). Objections to profanityespecially goddamn and the likeand sexual references continued from then into the 1990s. It is a work with international banning appeal: the book was barred in Ireland in the 50s and a group of booksellers in Turkey were taken to court for spreading propaganda in 1973.
The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1925
Perhaps the first great American novel that comes to the mind of the average person, this book chronicles the booze-infused and decadent lives of East Hampton socialites. It was challenged at the Baptist College in South Carolina because of the books language and mere references to sex.
Howl, Allen Ginsberg, 1956
Following in the footsteps of other Shaping America book Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman, Allen Ginsbergs boundary-pushing poetic works were challenged because of descriptions of homosexual acts.
In Cold Blood, Truman Capote, 1966
The subject of controversy in an AP English class in Savannah, GA after a parent complained about sex, violence and profanity. Banned but brought back.
Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison, 1952
Ellisons book won the 1953 National Book Award for Fiction because it expertly dealt with issues of black nationalism, Marxism and identity in the twentieth century. Considered to be too expert in its ruminations for some high schools, the book was banned from high school reading lists and schools in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Washington state.
The Jungle, Upton Sinclair, 1906
For decades, American students have studied muckraking and yellow journalism in social studies lessons about the industrial revolution, with The Jungle headlining the unit. And yet, the dangerous and purportedly socialist views expressed in the book and Sinclairs Oil led to its being banned in Yugoslavia, East Germany, South Korea and Boston.
Leaves of Grass, Walt Whitman, 1855
If they dont understand you, sometimes they ban you. This was the case when the great American poem Leaves of Grass was first published and the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice found the sensuality of the text disturbing. Caving to pressure, booksellers in New York, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania conceded to advising their patrons not to buy the filthy book.
Moby-Dick; or The Whale, Herman Melville,1851
In a real head-scratcher of a case, a Texas school district banned the book from its Advanced English class lists because it conflicted with their community values in 1996. Community values are frequently cited in discussions over challenged books by those who wish to censor them.
Native Son, Richard Wright, 1940
Richard Wrights landmark work of literary naturalism follows the life of young Bigger Thomas, a poor Black man living on the South Side of Chicago. Bigger is faced with numerous awkward and frustrating situations when he begins working for a rich white family as their chauffer. After he unintentionally kills a member of the family, he flees but is eventually caught, tried and sentenced to death. The book has been challenged or removed in at least eight different states because of objections to violent and sexually graphic content.
Our Bodies, Ourselves, Boston Womens Health Book Collective, 1971
Challenges of this book about the female anatomy and sexuality ran from the books publication into the mid-1980s. One Public Library lodged it promotes homosexuality and perversion. Not surprising in a country where some legislators want to keep others from saying the word vagina.
The Red Badge of Courage, Stephen Crane, 1895
Restricting access and refusing to allow teachers to teach books is still a form of censorship in many cases. Cranes book was among many on a list compiled by the Bay District School board in 1986 after parents began lodging informal complaints about books in an English classroom library.
The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1850
According to many critics, Hawthorne should have been less friendly toward his main character, Hester Prynne (in fairness, so should have minister Arthur Dimmesdale). One isnt surprised by the moralist outrage the book caused in 1852. But when, one hundred and forty years later, the book is still being banned because it is sinful and conflicts with community values, you have to raise your eyebrows. Parents in one school district called the book pornographic and obscene in 1977. Clearly this was before the days of the World Wide Web.
Sexual Behavior in the Human Male, Alfred C. Kinsey, 1948
How dare Alfred Kinsey ask men and women questions about their sex lives! The groundbreaking study, truly the first of its scope and kind, was banned from publication abroad and highly criticized at home.
Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein, 1961
The book was actually retained after a 2003 challenge in Mercedes, TX to the books adult themes. However, parents were subsequently given more control over what their child was assigned to read in class, a common school board response to a challenge.
A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams, 1947
The sexual content of this play, which later became a popular and critically acclaimed film, raised eyebrows and led to self-censorship when the film was being made. The director left a number of scenes on the cutting room floor to get an adequate rating and protect against complaints of the plays immorality.
Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston, 1937
Parents of students in Advanced English classes in a Virginia high school objected to language and sexual content in this book, which made TIME magazines list of top 100 Best English-Language Novels from 1923 to 2005.
To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee, 1960
Harper Lees great American tome stands as proof positive that the censorious impulse is alive and well in our country, even today. For some educators, the Pulitzer-prize winning book is one of the greatest texts teens can study in an American literature class. Others have called it a degrading, profane and racist work that promotes white supremacy.
Uncle Tom's Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe, 1852
Like Huck Finn, Of Mice and Men and Gone With the Wind, the contextual, historically and culturally accurate depiction of the treatment of Black slaves in the United States has rankled would-be censors.
Where the Wild Things Are, Maurice Sendak, 1963
Sendaks work is beloved by children in the generations since its publication and has captured the collective imagination. Many parents and librarians, however, did much hand-wringing over the dark and disturbing nature of the story. They also wrung their hands over the babys penis drawn in In the Night Kitchen.
The Words of Cesar Chavez, Cesar Chavez, 2002
The works of Chavez were among the many books banned in the dissolution of the Mexican-American Studies Program in Tucson, Arizona. The Tucson Unified School District disbanded the program so as to accord with a piece of legislation which outlawed Ethnic Studies classes in the state. To read more about this egregious case of censorship, click here.
Read more:
Banned Books That Shaped America | Banned Books Week
- China Censors Trump's Bomb Threat on Beijing - Newsweek - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- Review | How censors tried and failed to keep LGBT voices out of the movies - The Washington Post - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- UN AI summit accused of censoring criticism of Israel and big tech over Gaza war - Geneva Solutions - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- From gr*pists to nip nops, how self-censorship shapes the language of TikTok : Code Switch - NPR - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- Corrido Censorship: The paradox of funding and criminalizing cartel stories - The Oakland Post - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- 'Ready or Not' Devs Unveil a Mod to Remove Censorship In-Game For a More Brutal Experience - player.one - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- Centre flays X over 'censorship' claim, says platform delayed unblocking accounts - Times of India - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- Turkey blocks Grok content, becoming first country to 'censor' the AI chatbot - Middle East Eye - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- X blasts India censorship order on thousands of accounts - New Age BD - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- 'JSK' Producer Suresh Kumar On Its Censorship: All Issues Began With 'L2: Empuraan' - The Hollywood Reporter India - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Some patriotic reflections on Independence Day - The Verge - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- AI, Fair Use, and the Arsenal of Democracy - RealClearDefense - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Democratic nomination for Ithaca Common Council seat decided by just 11 votes - WSKG - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- A Summer Reading List for Americas 250th Anniversary - Ash Center - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- DEEP DIVE: $500 MILLION IN MEDIA FUNDING. BUT WHO'S CALLING THE SHOTS BEHIND THE HEADLINES? Its not just censorship its coordination. In Episode 2 of... - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Emergency: The Indian cartoonist who fought the censors with a smile - BBC - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Media in the Balkans: the rise of oligarchs - Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- From Censorship to Fascism to Extermination: PW Talks with Will Potter - Publishers Weekly - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- 'There is real fear': How Israel's attack on Iran enabled an assault on press freedoms - Middle East Eye - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]
- Vilifying the Vylans or: How I learned to stop censoring and call for death to the BBC - Freedom News - - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]
- Ready Or Not Studio Reveals What Exactly Has Been Censored And It's Not A Lot - TheGamer - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]
- The EUs Internet Law, a Blueprint for Global CensorshipIncluding on American Platforms? - The Daily Signal - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Blasphemy, Censorship, and the Future of Free Expression in Britain - Quillette - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Ready or Not Dev Releases Before-and-After Screenshots as It Battles Against Censorship Backlash and Steam Review-Bomb Campaign - IGN - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- The humanities must have a role in overseeing AI censorship - Times Higher Education - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- YouTube, Trump Having Productive Discussions Over Censorship Case - The Information - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- 'Warned Not to Talk About It': Overseas Boys' Love Censorship Is Sending Young Women to Jail - Comic Book Resources - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- China is rushing to develop its AI-powered censorship system - Global Voices - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Gov. McKee signs Freedom to Read Act into law - Rhode Island Current - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- 'Ill-conceived from the beginning': Judge ridicules Trump admin for 'slapdash' censorship of public health websites - Law and Crime News - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- How censorship affects the artistic expression in film - Times of India - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- What is The Ready or Not Censorship Controversy? Review Bombing Explained - Insider Gaming - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Self-censorship and the spiral of silence - Insight News - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Louisiana wants to censor citizen science, but residents are fighting back - News From The States - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- The many complex truths within the censoring of youth parliament - The Spinoff - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Free Speech Victory in Australia for Billboard Chris as X post censorship overturned - Alliance Defending Freedom International - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Read this: Pixar's self-censorship of Elio's queer themes may have doomed it - Yahoo - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- China is rushing to develop its AI-powered censorship system - Global Voices Advox - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- 'The censorship is a step too far': Ready or Not is getting review bombed after developers sanitise the game to adhere to stricter console standards -... - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Keep Them On The Shelf - The Progressive - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- SCOTUS Ruling Condoning Book Censorship Is a Grave Misjudgment. - GLAAD - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Read this: Pixar's self-censorship of Elio's queer themes may have doomed it - AV Club - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- How the Internet Works, and How China Censors It - ChinaFile - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- New Study from ChinaFile | The Locknet: How China Controls Its Internet and Why It Matters - Asia Society - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- The Witcher, The Bad Batch, and Cosmic Censorship - GamingTrend - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- The Censor Board Is A Back-Door For Govt To Control The Film World: Director Of Stalled Movie On Slain Punjabi Activist - article-14.com - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Censorship? Ready or Not eliminates nudity and reduces violence to hit consoles - Toy News Online - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Ready Or Not Will Be Censored Before Launching On Consoles, And It Could Even Affect The PC Version - TheGamer - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
- Nonviolence and the Battle Against Self-Censorship - Pressenza - International Press Agency - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
- Kneecap Defy Censorship Threats with Provocative Glastonbury Set - Consequence of Sound - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
- WATCH | Joseph Maximilliam Dunnigan On How Censorship Of Books Exists Across The World, From The US To China - Outlook India - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
- Artist Ai Weiwei: Democracy and freedom do not necessarily enable the creation of great art - - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
- Baihe and Danmei: Chinese GL and BL in an Age of Censorship - Daily Kos - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- Death by a thousand cuts in Hong Kong - Index on Censorship - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- In an act of political censorship, Deutsche Bank terminates publisher Mehring Verlags account - World Socialist Web Site - June 26th, 2025 [June 26th, 2025]
- The photographer using AI to reconstruct stories lost to censorship - The Verge - June 26th, 2025 [June 26th, 2025]
- Bernie Sanders Roasts Joe Rogan for Siding With Government Censorship - Cracked.com - June 26th, 2025 [June 26th, 2025]
- JCDecaux and Global accused of 'censorship' of anti-HFSS campaign - Campaign - June 26th, 2025 [June 26th, 2025]
- Emergency Films: 6 Movies That Faced Bans and Censorship in 1975 - Deccan Herald - June 26th, 2025 [June 26th, 2025]
- Hotbed of digital censorship: MAGAs war with Ireland over freedom of speech - Newstalk - June 26th, 2025 [June 26th, 2025]
- Iran-Israel war: What tools are used to censor reporting? - DW - June 24th, 2025 [June 24th, 2025]
- FTC Comments Accuse Big Tech of Widespread Censorship - The Daily Signal - June 24th, 2025 [June 24th, 2025]
- How we are ending Irans and all other governments power to censor online - The Hill - June 24th, 2025 [June 24th, 2025]
- Amid Silence and Censorship, Alabama Students and Professors Reflect on a Year Under SB129 - ACLU of Alabama - June 24th, 2025 [June 24th, 2025]
- Iran-Israel war: What tools are used to censor reporting? - Yahoo - June 24th, 2025 [June 24th, 2025]
- Western Tech Companies Are Capitulating to Russian Censors. Here's How Russians Can Fight Back. - The Moscow Times - June 24th, 2025 [June 24th, 2025]
- Book censors and the Trojan horse of decency - Fairbanks Daily News-Miner - June 24th, 2025 [June 24th, 2025]
- Censorship, arrests and merger of news agencies tools to control media during 1975 Emergency - The New Indian Express - June 24th, 2025 [June 24th, 2025]
- Tunnel Vision: Anti-censorship Tools, End-to-End Encryption and the Fight for a Free and Open Internet - Freedom House - June 22nd, 2025 [June 22nd, 2025]
- A Banner Year for Censorship: More States Are Restricting Classroom Discussions on Race and Gender - The Chronicle of Higher Education - June 22nd, 2025 [June 22nd, 2025]
- Advocates, Authors Call for Investigation Into Florida Book Removals Without Review | Censorship News - School Library Journal - June 22nd, 2025 [June 22nd, 2025]
- From LA to Letcher County, Anna Gomez takes her anti-censorship crusade on the road - Daily Independent - June 22nd, 2025 [June 22nd, 2025]
- Censorship into art: why Iranian director Jafar Panahis subversive stories are getting the worlds attention - Pancouver - June 22nd, 2025 [June 22nd, 2025]
- How does Israel restrict its media from reporting on the Iran conflict? - Al Jazeera - June 20th, 2025 [June 20th, 2025]
- Censorship: See the National Park visitor responses after Trump requested help deleting negative signage - Government Executive - June 20th, 2025 [June 20th, 2025]
- Why defunding research on misinformation and disinformation isnt what Americans want - Fast Company - June 20th, 2025 [June 20th, 2025]
- Oscar entry, but banned at home: This Sunita Rajwars acclaimed film faces censorship in India - Times of India - June 20th, 2025 [June 20th, 2025]
- Why Is The EU Really So Scared of Hate Speech? - The European Conservative - June 20th, 2025 [June 20th, 2025]
- PRESS RELEASE: In win for academic Speech, OK Supreme Court says higher ed is off-limits from censorship law - Oklahoma City Free Press - June 20th, 2025 [June 20th, 2025]
- What are the 20 most controversial album covers of all time? - Euronews.com - June 20th, 2025 [June 20th, 2025]