In turn of the century America, Boston became notorious for its strict policing of perceived prurience in the arts. Books, films, even performances were all subject to being "banned in Boston," as lawmakers and censors followed in the footsteps of Anthony Comstock's heavy-handed crusade against obscenity in New York. Comstock was also responsible for the "Comstock Law," a Congressional bill illegalizing the transportation and delivery of items deemed lewd, obscene or otherwise dangerous. Since the law could not exactly determine what an individual might perceive as obscene, it was left open to wide interpretation. It was no more widely interpreted than in Boston.
Author Christopher M. Finan covers this period of censorship history very well in From the Palmer Raids to the Patriot Act: a history of the fight for free speech in America. Finan notes that much of Boston's fervor over decency in publications stemmed from the Watch and Ward Society, a censorship group founded in 1878 and dedicated to restricting and eliminating access to inappropriate literature. At its most powerful, the society ensured that the Boston Public Library had questionable materials under lock and key, and they made sure librarians only doled out those works to patrons who could prove a legitimate research interest.
By the 1920s, the social tide towards censorship was turning. What was once fervently supported as a measure to protect the minds of the innocent was now perceived as authoritarian and ignorant. Finan quotes aptly from an editorial in the Boston Herald: "Do not make us ridiculous [...] Do not imply to the world that those whom we elect to office have no comprehension ... of intellectual freedom" (99).
Eventually, writers and editors of the age, as well as their readership, began to question the validity of the Comstock Laws. Groups like the Watch and Ward Society slowly lost their power, particularly when noted intellectuals like H.L. Mencken challenged such censorship in the courts. In the wake of Nazi book burnings in Germany in 1933, over 100,000 Americans protested in major cities across the nation, signifying that this country would never allow the state to fully determine the value of art. That same year, U.S. District Court judge John M. Woolsey lifted the eleven year Customs Bureau ban on James Joyce's Ulysses, a novel which still tops many publishers' lists of great books written in the 20th century. Of his decision, Judge Woolsey wrote: "When such a real artist in words, as Joyce undoubtedly is, seeks to draw a true picture of the lower middle class in a European city, ought it to be impossible for the American legally to see the picture?" (Finan 108).
Each year, libraries celebrate the history of censorship in America during Banned Books Week, taking place September 26th - October 2nd this year. As we look at books and films that have been banned, challenged or censored in some way, we can appreciate the value of intellectual freedom and examine how far we have come in terms of free speech and consider how far we have to go.
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October is American Archives Month! To celebrate the Archives is featuring the Sigmund A. Lavine Boston Theatre Collection in anticipation of the opening of the new Paramount Center next year.
