SOURCE: West, Mark I. “The Role of Sexual Repression in Anthony Comstock's Campaign to Censor Children's Dime Novels.” Journal of American and Comparative Cultures 22, no. 4 (winter 1999): 45-9.

In the following essay, West explores the psychological tensions behind the censorship campaign of the American reformer, Anthony Comstock.

Censors tend to use political or religious arguments to justify their positions, but beneath the surface of their arguments often runs an unstated and personal subtext. Some censors play out their internal psychological conflicts on a very public stage. These censors attempt to renounce their repressed impulses and desires through censorship campaigns. An example of such a censor is Anthony Comstock. Recognized as the most famous censor in America during the second half of the nineteenth century, Comstock led a national crusade against vice. An examination of his personal life suggests that his censorship activities stemmed from the repugnance that he felt...