And then there were none

The first book to be banned in America was written by Thomas Morton, an English businessman, entrepreneur, lawyer, and poet, who arrived in the colonies in 1624 with a boatload of Puritans. He settled in what is now, Quincy, Mass.

Morton, considered a “dandy,” adapted to his new surroundings and founded the Merrymount Colony. He revived forbidden customs by erecting an 80-foot maypole, dedicated to Bacchus, the Roman god of wine and merriment. Men danced and drank and caroused with women and Merrymount became the fastest growing settlement in New England.

However, his heathen behavior did not sit well with the Puritans who ordered him to cease and desist his pagan festivals. In 1628, a company of men, led by Miles Standish, arrested Morton, who managed to escape but was later caught and charged with selling guns to Native Americans. He was deported to England for trial. What does any shrewd rabble-rouser do in exile? Morton wrote a three-volume history of the beliefs and practices of the Native Americans and the poor treatment they were receiving at the hands of the Puritans — Morton also ridiculed the strict religious principles of the Puritans and Pilgrims.

Morton’s book, titled he “New English Canaan” (Morton truly believed he had settled in the promised land) was printed in the Netherlands. The Netherlands regularly published books considered seditious by the English. Four hundred of the books were seized upon publication. The few books that made it into circulation were quickly condemned and banned. Today, his book is considered a definitive depiction of colonial history. There are only 16 known copies of the book in existence and most are in museums, but in 2019, one of the books sold at auction for $60,000.

Some rulers did more than just ban the books. Chinese emperor Qin Shi Huang executed more than 400 Confucian scholars by burying them alive. He believed it was easier to ban the authors before they could write the books. In 35 AD, Roman emperor Caligula banned “The Odyssey” by Homer. “The Odyssey,” now considered classic literature, expressed the Greek idea of freedom – and Caligula certainly didn’t want the Roman people reading that kind of nonsense.

“The Catcher in the Rye,” by J. D. Salinger, was one of the most controversial (and banned) books between 1961 and 1982. It had everything, sex, violence, profanity, occultism, and even a theoretical communist plot. I couldn’t wait to read the dog-eared paperback circulating through my high school.

“The Wizard of Oz” was banned in 1928 because the story depicted a woman in a strong leadership role. “Charlotte’s Web,” a story about a pig, Wilbur, and his friendship with a spider named Charlotte, was banned in Kansas because talking animals are unnatural and blasphemous. However, the book sold more than 45 million copies and was made into a movie. It is not unusual for a banned book to end up on the best-seller list.

History tells us that time changes what may be considered blasphemous or tawdry. Things that shocked the Puritans are generally acceptable today. Ideas denounced by educators have been proven correct. For instance, Copernicus and Galileo were correct when they published that the earth revolved around the sun.

Read with an open mind. Don’t be afraid to embrace new ideas. When you read — anything is possible. Pigs and spiders can talk, and astronauts can fly to the moon. Walt Disney said “there is more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island.” He’s right.