It seems that as long as there was written literature, there were bans and censorship. But first, let’s explain what a book ban or censorship is. Per the Middle Tennessee State University’s First Amendment Encyclopedia, book banning is defined as “a form of censorship that occurs when private individuals, government officials, or organizations remove books from libraries, school reading lists, or bookstore shelves because they object to their content, ideas, or themes. Those advocating a ban typically complain that the book in question contains graphic violence, expresses disrespect for parents and family, is sexually explicit, exalts evil, lacks literary merit, is unsuitable for a particular age group, or includes offensive language.” Book Banning | The First Amendment Encyclopedia (mtsu.edu)
The oldest ban in the United States dates back to 1637, with Thomas Morton’s New English Canaan. The local Puritan government in an area now known as Quincy, Massachusetts, was upset about Morton’s harsh criticisms of their power structure. History of Book Banning – Banned Books – Research Guides at Harvard Library
The most recent book bans target literature geared towards children and young adults. The biggest opposition to these bans heralds the US’s First Amendment, the Freedom of Speech, to declare such bans as unconstitutional. This often ends with court cases, and there are many. The most notable is Board of Education v. Pico (1982), where the “Supreme Court ruled in the students’ favor on First Amendment grounds, holding that the right to read is implied by the First Amendment. The government—in this case, a public school—cannot restrict speech because it does not agree with the content of that speech.” Island Trees School District v. Pico (1982) – Bill of Rights Institute
The Banned Book Reviewer 
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