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Sociology

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Theses/Dissertations

2010

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Full-Text Articles in Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration

Obscenity And Pornography: A Historical Look At The American Library Association, The Commission On Obscenity And Pornography, And The Supreme Court, Gretchen Brooke Gould Jan 2010

Obscenity And Pornography: A Historical Look At The American Library Association, The Commission On Obscenity And Pornography, And The Supreme Court, Gretchen Brooke Gould

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

There was a time when accessing pornographic and obscene materials was much more difficult than it is today. Prosecuted in 1868, Regina v. Hicklin was the first known obscenity case tried under the Obscene Publications Act in Great Britain. The United States Supreme Court first addressed obscenity in the 1957 case of Roth v. United States and grappled with setting standards or creating criteria by which obscenity could be defined. In the 1960s, multiple proposals for federal legislation to crack down on obscenity were offered. The American Library Association (ALA) stepped in to voice its concern and provide professional input …