"Banned in Boston" was a phrase employed from the late 19th century through the mid-20th century to describe a literary work, motion picture, or play prohibited from distribution or exhibition in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. During this period, Boston officials had wide authority to ban works featuring "objectionable" content, and often banned works with sexual or foul language.
Early instances of works being "banned in Boston" extend back at least to the year 1651. That year, William Pynchon, the founder of Springfield, Massachusetts - Massachusetts' great settlement in the Connecticut River Valley - and the former treasurer of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, wrote a book criticizing Puritanism entitled, The Meritous Price of Our Redemption. Boston, founded by Puritans and, at that time, ruled as a de jure theocracy, banned Pynchon's book and pressured him to return to England. He did so in 1652, which nearly caused Springfield to align with the nearby Connecticut Colony.
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