PAULDING, JAMES KIRKE (1 , American writer and politician, of Dutch descent, was born in what was f or merly Dutchess (now Putnam) county (N. Y.), on Aug. 22, 1778. His father was ruined by pledging his fortune to secure supplies for the continental army. When about 18 Paulding moved to New York, secured a clerical position, and began writing anonymously for Peter Irving's paper, the Morning Chronicle. On Jan. 24,1807, with William Irving, his brother-in-law, and with Washington Irving, he began the humorous series Salmagundi. The literary war with the English reviewers was continued in two clever satires, The Diverting History of John Bull and Brother Jonathan (1812) and John Bull in America; or, The New Mun chausen (1825). One of his more serious books The United States and England (1815) attracted the notice of President Madison, who in 1815 appointed him secretary to the board of navy com missioners, a position he held until 1823. From 1824 to 1838 Paulding was navy agent in New York city and from 1838 to 1841 was secretary of the Navy in the cabinet of President Van Buren. In 1846 he purchased an estate near Hyde Park (N. Y.), where he lived till his death, April 6, 186o.
As early as 1824 Columbia college conferred on him the degree of Master of Arts for his literary work. Although the novel Koningsmarke (1823) and two narrative poems date from this early period—The Lay of the Scottish Fiddle (1813), a parody of Scott, and The Backwoodsman (1818)—most of his fiction was written later. His best-known novels include: The Dutchman's Fireside (1831) ; Westward Ho! (1832), a vivid tale of migra tion to the Mississippi valley; and The Old Continental: or, The Price of Liberty (1846). His Life of Washington (1835) was favourably reviewed by Poe and went through nine American editions before it was overshadowed by Irving's. The best of his plays, The Lion of the West, in 1830 won a prize offered by James Hackett for the best original comedy with an American as the leading character. His style, at its best, in ease and quiet irony, compares favourably with that of his friend Washington Irving.
See the Literary Life of James K. Paulding (1867), by his son, W. I. Paulding, which accompanied the edition of the father's work (1867 68) ; also the biography by A. L. Herold (1926), which contains a good bibliography.