The Thomas Paine Interviews
In collaboration with The Thomas Paine Society UK, the Institute of Intellectual History presents a series of hitherto unaired interviews with leading scholars and politicians on the political thought of Thomas Paine.
The interviews were conducted by Ronald H. Blumer between 1992 and 1993. The documentary film for which they were intended was never completed, but thanks to the generosity of Ronald H. Blumer and Middlemarch films they have now been submitted to the Intellectual History Archive and made available here.
Michael Foot
The former leader of the British Labour Party Michael Foot (1913-2010) was interviewed about Tom Paine on June 30th 1992 at the bank of the Thames across from the Palace of Westminster.
E. P. Thompson
E. P. Thompson (1924-1993), the great historian of the English working class, was interviewed in his library at his home in England on July 1, 1992.
Tony Benn
The former Labour MP Tony Benn (1925-2014), who was also an active member of the Fabian Society, was interviewed on July 1st 1992 about Tom Paine and his opposition to the British class system.
Isaac Kramnick
The American historian Isaac Kramnick (1938-2019) was interviewed in 1993 in what seems to be his office at Cornell University, where he arrived in 1972, having received his PhD at Harvard University in 1965.
Sean Wilentz
Sean Wilentz (b. 1951) is the Sidney and Ruth Lapidus Professor of the American Revolutionary Era at Princeton University, where he has taught since 1979. In 1993, he was interviewed by Ronald H. Blumer at Thomas Paine’s cottage in New Rochelle, New York.
Carolyn Forché
Carolyn Forché (b. 1950) is an American poet, editor, professor, translator, and human rights advocate. She was interviewed about Tom Paine in 1993.
Benjamin Barber
Benjamin R. Barber (1939 – 2017) was an American political theorist and author. In 1993, he was interviewed by Ronald H. Blumer.