Now, the patriotic spirit, along with other dispositions, may be acquired as a habit, and the mold into which patriotism runs is notoriously with most men a matter of circumstances and habituation. Along this line, it is interesting to speculate as to what American patriotism would be if this country had never separated from England, if the thirteen colonies had not been able to form a federation, or if the South had been successful in the Civil War. The loyalty of Americans would have been totally different, but no doubt would be just as devoted as it actually is. It is a historical fact that English patriotism has modified itself to correspond to the expansion of the empire. In view of all this, one can hardly resist the conclusion that patriotism depends quite largely upon habituation and use and wont. Patriotism is a national habit; and it is a habit which even were it proved to be nothing but evil, would not be easily broken, since it is acquired from life’s earliest years onward. “The superstitions of our early years, E’en when we know them to be nothing more, Lose not for that their hold upon our hearts; Not all are free who ridicule their chains.”[31] There are two kinds of the habituation of patriotism, deliberate and spontaneous, conscious and unconscious, direct and indirect. The more obvious of the two is that of conscious and deliberate habituation. There are agencies that are constantly being used with deliberate purpose towards the regimentation of the populace in patriotism. “Patriotism is systematically cultivated by anniversaries, pilgrimages, symbols, songs, recitations, etc.”[32] There are numerous patriotic societies, such as the Grand Army of the Republic, the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Sons of Veterans, the Woman’s Relief Corps, the Daughters of the Confederacy, and others.[33]