Viking Heritage of America

To understand the politics of America today and to appreciate popular American attitudes in the coming years, it is important to know about America's Viking heritage. President Bush is currently a very popular American hero, one of the most highly regarded presidents to hold office in a century. The Viking history of America plays an important role in understanding the role of a successful war president in American politics.

The origins of America have a direct bearing on current American attitudes.

During its first 150 years America was settled primarily by middle class English people. The English language became the national language. Settlers from England were the overwhelming majority of citizens at the time the county became an independent nation in 1776. By the time America was independent, the English settlers in America were predominantly from the parts of England that had been conquered and settled by the Vikings eight hundred years earlier.

In the year 820 a group of traders and strong warriors began invading and settling the English coast. These traders and warriors came from the Eastern side of the North Sea, areas today occupied by Denmark and Norway. The invaders spoke a Nordic language. These traders referred to themselves as Vikings.

The Vikings settled in England and intermarried with earlier settlers of England, the Angles and the Saxons, people who had arrived seven hundred years earlier than the Vikings and were tribally related to the Vikings. The English language today is roughly 30% directly descended from the Viking language and 20% from the earlier language of the Angles and Saxons.

The Vikings were aggressive traders and warriors. They conquered and settled in Russia and France. They traded over thousands of kilometers, trading in the Mediterranean Sea. The Vikings established ports as far away as Sicily and Turkey.

The Vikings thrived for several centuries, but became less visible and less aggressive over four centuries from 800 to 1200. When the Catholic Church was overthrown in the 1500's in Northern Europe by Protestants, nearly all former Viking peoples became Protestant Christians, as they still are today. Americans, as descendants of the Vikings, are still predominantly Protestant Christians.

To return to the subject of President Bush and contemporary America. The Viking heritage of America has a great deal to do with American culture. The Vikings were traders and warriors. They were militarily aggressive. They conquered and traded over large oceans and large distances. Each Viking ship was democratically managed with the ship captain elected by the crew. Often the captain was the tallest man. Bravery and heroism were essential parts of the Viking religion. The Viking gods were warriors; male and female. Four of the seven days of the week in the English language are named after Viking war gods: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. These days are named after the four Viking war gods: Tys, Wodin, Thor and Freya.

The American black ships of Admiral Perry that attacked Japan nearly 150 years ago were very much in the Viking tradition of using warrior power to force a native people (Japan in this case) to accept trade.

We Americans are deeply rooted in our Viking heritage. President Bush is a perfect Viking hero. He is tall and he has just won the first successful war in American history where the same president was in office at the beginning and end of the War. Other war heroes have been elected president after successful wars: Presidents Washington, Jackson, Grant, Theodore Roosevelt and Eisenhower.

President Bush understands the Viking hero appeal he has for the American people. He will most certainly be re-elected president and will be even more powerful after the 2004 election unless he personally makes a serious mistake. President Bush cannot be defeated by a Democratic candidate, he can only defeat himself.