James Kirke Paulding James Kirke Paulding ( August 22 , 1778 – April 6 , 1860 ) was an American writer and , for a time , the United States Secretary of the Navy . Biography . James Kirke Paulding was born on August 22 , 1778 , at Pleasant Valley , New York . Paulding was chiefly self - educated . He became a close friend of Washington Irving . 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 " Salmagundi ; " 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 " , a group which also included William Cullen Bryant , Gulian Crommelin Verplanck , Fitz - Greene Halleck , Joseph Rodman Drake , Robert Charles Sands , Lydia Maria Child , and Nathaniel Parker Willis . 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 . In the decade before Washington Irving and James Fenimore Cooper 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 ' 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 and for its sympathetic yet unromanticized depiction of the Indian . " Lion of the West , " selected in a play competition in which William Cullen Bryant was one of the judges , presented a cartoon of Davy Crockett ; it was the most - often performed play on the American stage before " Uncle Tom ' s Cabin " , 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 bastian of liberty against the attacks of abolitionists and European critics . Among Paulding ' s government positions were those of secretary to the Board of Navy Commissioners in 1815 - 23 and Naval Agent in New York in 1824 - 38 . President Martin Van Buren 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 . 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 . USS " James K . Paulding " ( DD - 238 ) was named in honor of Secretary of the Navy Paulding . 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 .