Patriotism is a sense of national pride, often heightened in times of national pride. Patriots have a love of country, or state, or locality which influences their thoughts and actions. Patriots may look to their country or other area of interest as a living force, to be defended and protected, as one might defend a loved one.

In times of war patriotism can play a large role. Soldiers will take risks with little regard to self-interest, due in part to their love of their country. A feeling of patriotism also may cause otherwise peace-loving individuals to become swept up in a sense of war, if they tie the warring to protecting or glorifying the country they love.

A country may work hard to develop patriotism in order to create more support for a particular cause. National leaders may wish for individuals to for a time set aside their own interests and instead consider what is deemed best for the country. Patriotism exists at all times, but to varying degrees. Creating a sense of hightened patriotism is a temporary feeling. How long and to what degree a person feels patriotic will depend in part on how successful the causes giving rise to the patriotism are, and how just the individual considers what the nation is seeking.

What role did patriotism play in the South's decision to secede from the Union? Emery Thomas argues that "in the vanguard of the secession movement was a cadre of so-called "fire-eaters... who worked long and hard... at the transit of Southern sectionalism into Southern nationalism." (Thomas in Owens and Cooke, 8) Paul Escott suggests that most Southerners in 1860 still identified themselves as Americans first. He suggests that for war to take place, "a sense of Confederate nationalism had to grow and inspire southerners if they were to emerge from their ordeal as an independent nation." Escott suggests that Southern unity was at its strongest just as the war began in 1861.

How much of a factor was patriotism, or nationalism, in the Southern states' decision to secede?