James Kirke Paulding (August 22, 1778 – April 6, 1860) was an American writer and, for a time, the

United States Secretary of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the United States Department of the Navy, Department of the Navy, a military department within the United States Department of Defense. On Mar ...

. Paulding's early writings were satirical and violently anti-British, as shown in ''The Diverting History of John Bull and Brother Jonathan'' (1812). He wrote numerous long poems and serious histories. Among his novels are ''Konigsmarke, the Long Finne'' (1823) and ''The Dutchman's Fireside'' (1831). He is best known for creating the inimitable Nimrod Wildfire, the "half horse, half alligator" in ''The Lion of the West'' (1831), and as collaborator with William Irving and

Washington Irving Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He wrote the short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and "The Legend of Sleepy ...

in ''

Salmagundi Salmagundi (alternatively salmagundy or sallid magundi) is a cold dish or salad made from different ingredients which may include meat, seafood, Egg as food, eggs, cooked and raw vegetables, fruits, or Pickling, pickles. In English culture, the ...

.'' (1807–08). Paulding was also, by the mid-1830s, an ardent and outspoken defender of slavery who later endorsed southern secession from the United States.

Biography

James Kirke Paulding was born on August 22, 1778, at Pleasant Valley, Dutchess County, New York. His parents were William Paulding and Catherine Ogden. Paulding was chiefly self-educated. He became a close friend of

. With Irving, Paulding proposed a literary project. As he described, "one day in a frolicsome mood, we broached the idea of a little periodical merely for our own amusement, and that of the town, for neither of us anticipated any further circulation." The result was ''

; ''a short-lived satirical periodical, from which the word 'Gotham' was first ascribed as a name for New York City. Along with Irving, Paulding was associated with the "

Knickerbocker Group The Knickerbocker Group was a somewhat indistinct group of 19th-century American writers. Its most prominent members included Washington Irving, James Fenimore Cooper and William Cullen Bryant. Each was a pioneer in general literature—novels, poe ...

", a group which also included

William Cullen Bryant William Cullen Bryant (November 3, 1794 – June 12, 1878) was an American romantic poet, journalist, and long-time editor of the '' New York Evening Post''. Born in Massachusetts, he started his career as a lawyer but showed an interest in poe ...

, Gulian Crommelin Verplanck, Fitz-Greene Halleck, Joseph Rodman Drake, Robert Charles Sands,

Lydia Maria Child Lydia Maria Child ( Francis; February 11, 1802October 20, 1880) was an American Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist, women's rights activist, Native Americans in the United States, Native American rights activist, novelist, journalis ...

, and

Nathaniel Parker Willis Nathaniel Parker Willis (January 20, 1806 – January 20, 1867), also known as N. P. Willis,Baker, 3 was an American writer, poet and editor who worked with several notable American writers including Edgar Allan Poe and Henry Wadsworth Longfello ...

. Paulding's other writings also include '' The Diverting History of John Bull and Brother Jonathan'' (1812), a satire, '' The Dutchman's Fireside'' (1831), a romance which attained popularity, ''A'' ''Life of Washington'' (1835), and some poems. Extracts from his epic poem ''The Backwoodsman'' (1818) were popularly reprinted throughout his life. In the decade before Washington Irving and

James Fenimore Cooper James Fenimore Cooper (September 15, 1789 – September 14, 1851) was an American writer of the first half of the 19th century, whose historical romances depicting colonial and indigenous characters from the 17th to the 19th centuries brought h ...

achieved popular success, Paulding experimented in every genre in an effort to forge a new American literature. Thereafter, his outstanding contributions were in the novel and in a stage comedy. ''Koningsmarke'' (1823), which he began as a spoof of

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

's historical romances, took unexpected hold of his imagination and became a well-turned novel, notable for its portrait of an old black woman that anticipates

William Faulkner William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer. He is best known for William Faulkner bibliography, his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi, a stand-in fo ...

and for its sympathetic yet unromanticized depiction of the Indian. ''The Lion of the West'' (1831), selected in a play competition in which William Cullen Bryant was one of the judges, presented a cartoon of

Davy Crockett Colonel (United States), Colonel David Crockett (August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) was an American politician, militia officer and frontiersman. Often referred to in popular culture as the "King of the Wild Frontier", he represented Tennesse ...

; it was the most-often performed play on the American stage before ''

Uncle Tom's Cabin ''Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly'' is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in two Volume (bibliography), volumes in 1852, the novel had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans ...

'', and an altered version enjoyed success in London. Paulding's ''View of Slavery in the United States'' (1836) was a comprehensive defense of both Black slavery and America's claim to be a bastion of liberty against the attacks of abolitionists and European critics. Writer and critic

John Neal John Neal (August 25, 1793 – June 20, 1876) was an American writer, critic, editor, lecturer, and activist. Considered both eccentric and influential, he delivered speeches and published essays, novels, poems, and short stories between the 1 ...

in his 1824–25 critical work ''

American Writers The Lists of American writers include: United States By ethnicity *List of African-American writers *List of Asian American writers, List of Asian-American writers *List of Cuban American writers, List of Cuban-American writers *List of Egypti ...

'' dubbed Paulding one of only three authors (along with himself and

Charles Brockden Brown Charles Brockden Brown (January 17, 1771 – February 22, 1810) was an American novelist, historian, and magazine editor, editor of the Early National period. Brown is regarded by some scholars as the most important American novelist before J ...

) to exhibit an authentically American style. Among Paulding's government positions were those of secretary to the

Board of Navy Commissioners The Board of Navy Commissioners was a United States Navy administrative body in existence from 1815 to 1842, with responsibility for the navy's material support. The three-member Board was created as part of an expansion of the U.S. Navy Departm ...

in 1815–23 and Naval Agent in New York in 1824–38. President

Martin Van Buren Martin Van Buren ( ; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was the eighth president of the United States, serving from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as Attorney General o ...

appointed him Secretary of the Navy in June 1838. As Secretary, he was a conservative figure, whose extensive knowledge of naval affairs was balanced by notable lack of enthusiasm for new technology. He opposed the introduction of steam-propelled warships declaring that he would "never consent to let our old ships perish, and transform our Navy into a fleet of (steam) sea monsters." Nevertheless, his tenure was marked by advances in steam engineering, wide-ranging exploration efforts, enlargement of the fleet and an expansion of the Navy's apprenticeship program. In 1839, Paulding was elected as a member to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

. Paulding left office with the change of administrations in March 1841, returned to literary pursuits and took up agriculture. He died at his farm near

Hyde Park, New York Hyde Park is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States, bordering the Hudson River north of Poughkeepsie. Within the town are the hamlets of Hyde Park, East Park, Staatsburg, and Haviland. Hyde Park is known as the hometown of Fra ...

. He is interred at

Green-Wood Cemetery Green-Wood Cemetery is a cemetery in the western portion of Brooklyn, New York City. The cemetery is located between South Slope, Brooklyn, South Slope/Greenwood Heights, Brooklyn, Greenwood Heights, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn, Win ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. USS ''James K. Paulding'' (DD-238) was named in honor of Secretary of the Navy Paulding.

Personal life

Paulding married Gertrude Kemble (d. 1841) on 15 November 1818. Gertrude was the daughter of New York merchant Peter Kemble and the sister of U.S. congressman Gouverneur Kemble. They had four sons: * Peter Kemble Paulding (1819–1900) * William Irving Paulding (1825–1890) * Gouverneur Paulding (1829–1913) * James Nathaniel Paulding (1833–1898)

Oft-quoted phrase

Paulding's story, "The Politician" contains a maxim that is often attributed to Samuel Gompers: "Reward your friends and punish your enemies." The story appears in his collection, ''Tales of the Good Woman, by a Doubtful Gentleman.'' The same basic idea (a definition of justice as doing good to friends and harm to enemies), appears in Plato's dialogue, the ''Republic'', where it is subsequently rejected as inadequate.

Important works

* 1807–1808 – ''

'' (with

) * 1812 �
''The Diverting History of John Bull and Brother Jonathan''
* 1813 �
''The Lay of the Scottish Fiddle''
* 1818 �
''The Backwoodsman''
* 1820 – ''Salmagundi. Second Series'' * 1822 �
''A Sketch of Old England by a New England Man''
ref> * 1823 �
''Koningsmarke, the Long Finne''
* 1825 �
''John Bull in America, or the New Munchausen''
* 1826 �
''The Merry Tales of the Three Wise Men of Gotham''
* 1828 �
''The New Mirror for Travellers''
* 1829 �
''Tales of the Good Woman, by a Doubtful Gentleman''
* 1830 �
''Chronicles of the City of Gotham''
* 1831 �
''The Dutchman's Fireside''
* 1832 – ''Westward Ho!'' * 1835 �
''Life of George Washington''
in two volumes * 1836 – ''View of Slavery in the United States'' * 1836 �
''The Book of St. Nicholas''
* 1838 �
''A Gift from Fairy Land''
* 1846 – ''The Old Continental, or the Price of Liberty'' * 1849 – ''The Puritan and his Daughter''

Legacy and honors

*The

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Liberty Ship Liberty ships were a ship class, class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Although British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost cons ...

was named in his honor.

References

External links

"The Knickerbocker's Rescue Santa Claus" – an excerpt from Kirke Paulding's "The Book of Saint Nicholas" (1836)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paulding, James Kirke 1778 births 1860 deaths Novelists from New York (state) United States secretaries of the navy Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery Van Buren administration cabinet members 19th-century American politicians People from Hyde Park, New York American male novelists American male poets 19th-century American novelists 19th-century American dramatists and playwrights 19th-century American poets New York (state) Democratic-Republicans American male dramatists and playwrights Knickerbocker Group American essayists American proslavery activists Poets from New York (state) American male biographers 19th-century American historians 19th-century American biographers American magazine editors American magazine founders American magazine publishers (people) American satirists Members of the American Philosophical Society