Mary Hull - Censorship in America

This book provides a starting point for research on censorship and related issues of freedom of expression, obscenity, pornography, standards of decency, and liberty and democracy in the United States. Whether readers are students, concerned citizens, activists, teachers, or legislators interested in learning more about censorship, this book offers objective information on censorship’s vital issues as well as an introduction to the many publications, organizations, and resources that are available for further research. Chapter 1 is an introduction to the subject of censorship in the United States. It takes a brief look at the history of censorship in America, then explores current issues including the censorship of textbooks and other educational materials, children’s literature, adult literature, music, art, theater, film, television, the news media, and the Internet. The rationale behind the censorship of materials or ideas is discussed, along with the ways in which Americans have tried to combat censorship. Chapter 2 is a chronology of important events in the history of censorship. The chronology is designed to familiarize readers with the ways in which censorship has been used by different people at different times. It also explores the motivations and methods of those who have opposed censorship. Chapter 3 discusses key individuals who have made significant contributions to the public debate on censorship. Chapter 4 provides data on censorship in the United States. Supreme Court decisions, graphs, tables, and interesting quotations are included for the reader’s reference. Chapter 5 is a directory of organizations and associations that can provide the reader with information helpful for developing a greater understanding of the issue of censorship. Chapters 6 and 7 include annotated bibliographical references for print and nonprint resources covering the topics addressed in this book, including censorship in schools and libraries, the censorship of various media, intellectual freedom, violence in the media, the proliferation of online pornography, and the issues of democracy and liberty in news media. Finally, the glossary at the back of the book contains helpful definitions for some of the terms used in this book, and the index guides the reader to specific pages on which to find topics of interest.