Thomas Paine and the Birthday of America
With the 250th Anniversary of America on the horizon, we are very excited to have a once in a lifetime opportunity to tell Paine’s story to more people than ever before.
Exciting news!
We have launched our Thomas Paine Screening Kit. It is designed for libraries, museums, educational institutions, citizens’ groups, and more!
$300 for larger libraries & organizations.
DISCOUNT CODE AT CHECKOUT - $100 for smaller libraries & organizations.
This is a simple and cost-effective way to introduce your students, members, or patrons to the story of Thomas Paine.
This won’t just be a film screening but a journey into a deeper understanding of his life in the eighteenth-century world of revolutions and enlightenment, and in particular his profound impact on the founding of our country. These screenings will inspire discussion and debate about Paine’s visions for America and how we continue to look for ways to achieve them.
This Digital Screening Kit includes:
Links to a trailer, the 73-minute feature film, and the 59-minute PBS version, both with optional English, Spanish, & French subtitles
Talking points handout
Lesson Plan
Comprehensive bibliography including websites
And much more!
Host an unlimited number of events at your venue until the end of 2026!
“Brilliantly done film: emotionally stirring, thought provoking, and sprinkled with genuine humor.”
“It made me keenly aware not much has changed in regard to politics among the elite.”
“Knew nothing about Thomas Paine before - very informative. Thank you.”
Quotes from Patrons of Andover Library, Andover, Ohio
Questions? Email us at info@ruskinproductions.com
Upcoming Library Screenings
Scotch Plains Public Library Scotch Plains NJ, Feb 21
Plans to Date
In America
We will present Paine’s story through multiple performances of our play To Begin the World Over Again: the Life of Thomas Paine across America, in many of our past venues as well as in new ones. The rebroadcast of the film on PBS is confirmed, and we will be offering the Spanish subtitled version to Spanish language television networks. The audio version of the play will be available to public radio stations through PRX.
In Great Britain
Following our two previous tours in England, Scotland and Ireland, we are planning new performances, looking to work in partnership with the British, Scottish and Irish Associations for American Studies, the Thomas Paine Society, UK and our past contacts and venues. We will be offering our film and audio versions of the play to various media outlets including the BBC, Channel 4/Film 4, RTÉ (Irish public television and radio), BBC Radio 4 and others.
In Europe
We will present performances of the play at universities and conferences, and for public organizations in France and other European countries, working with America2026. We are also planning partnerships with the European Association for American Studies and other similar organizations, and with European media outlets, including France Télévisions. We have plans in place to offer multiple European languages versions of the film.
Worldwide
We will also launch worldwide social media campaigns on Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky and LinkedIn, and through podcasts and our own newsletters. Downloads of our film for $3 are available on Vimeo.
More information below in the 250th Birthday Flyers about performances and funding.
Activity to Date
Individual donations of $18,000 have been received!
A very special thank you, Stuart MacGuire!
Foundation donations of $32,500 received or pledged!
A very special thank you, James Hervey Johnson Charitable Educational Trust!
Updates!
We have raised $50,500 of our total budget of $96,000. Every contribution helps!
We are creating Screening Kits for libraries and museums across America and the world, and working with the American Federation of Teachers to promote our Thomas Paine Lesson Plan. Distribution to PBS is confirmed.
Onward!
Next PERFORMANCES IN AMERICA
- Florida Veterans for Common Sense, Sarasota, Florida, 2025
- La Valley College, Valley Glen, California 2026
- Ocean County College, Tom’s River, New Jersey, 2026
- The Thomas Paine Society, Pasadena, California 2026
Next PERFORMANCES IN EUROPE
- Lycée Franco-Allemand BUC, Versailles, November, 2024 and 2025
- University of Chicago Intl. Institute of Research in Paris, 2025
- Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève, Paris, 2026
- America2026 Final Conference, Paris, 2026
We are excited to be entering 2026, the year of America’s 250th Anniversary.
We want Thomas Paine’s legacy to be a central part of the celebrations and to inspire reflections on the journey that America has taken since 1776. His ideas changed the world. His writings sparked a revolution and played a pivotal role in the development of the idea of true democracy. He continues to challenge and inspire us today as we work towards achieving the aim of a more perfect union.
We hope that you will join us and be a part of this project!
Airings
Always check Local Listings!
January 4 at 8pm (ET) | January 5 at 2am (ET)
January 4 at 7pm (MT) | January 18 at 2pm (MT)
January 4 at 12pm (ET) | January 4 at 3:30pm (ET) | January 5 at 8pm (ET)
January 7 at 10pm (PT) | January 8 at 10pm (PT) | January 9 at 3am (PT)
January 9 at 10pm (CT) | January 10 at 3am (CT)
January 10 at 3:30pm (ET) | January 11 at 8pm (ET)
January 10 at 3:30pm (ET) | January 11 at 8pm (ET)
January 10 at 3:30pm (ET) | January 11 at 8pm (ET)
January 10 at 3:30pm (ET) | January 11 at 8pm (ET)
January 11 at 6pm (CT)
January 15 at 9pm (CT) | January 16 at 4am (CT) | January 16 at 2pm (CT) | January 17 at 12am (CT)
January 17 at 9pm (ET)
January 19 at 8pm (CT) | January 21 at 2am (CT) | January 23 at 12pm (CT)
January 21 at 6pm (ET)
January 26 at 9pm (PT) | January 27 at 12am (PT)
February 2nd at 7pm (ET)
We are thrilled to be partnering with America2026, a consortium of scholars based in France that also includes scholars from England, Scotland and other European countries as well as America.
To Begin the World Over Again: the Life of Thomas Paine will be performed at a number of their conferences and universities.
Performances from Our Tours
Benjamin Franklin House, London
Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève, Paris
Thomas Paine Society, Pasadena