Why did the firefighter first start burning books in Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury?

Answer

"Established, 1790, to burn English-influrnced books in the colonies. First Fireman: Benjamin Franklin" (34).

Answer (expanded): Although this above answer is technically true in the book, the setting depicted by the author is a Dystopia bent on corruption and lies, so this answer isn't totally true as we all know firemen hasn't burned books.