Authentic shared purpose produced genuine solidarity that softened attacks on minorities

Evidence

Nor were the inhibitions which the war laid upon wartime nationalism merely negative and expediential. Through military service and through countless voluntary community projects, the peoples of America drew together into a closer union than any they had known before. In dedication to a common cause, they found a good deal of the unity for which they sought. The cohesive sympathies of 1917 and 1918 certainly did not satiate the craving for conformity; but who can doubt that the fund of good will which most minorities enjoyed during those years softened the blows that fell upon them? — John Higham, Strangers in the Land, 1509

Categorization

• XREF: Nuance on the reader’s hypothesis: genuine common-cause unity (real, not merely manufactured enemy) still failed to satisfy the craving for conformity and did not prevent later nativist backlash — evidence about what happens when a manufactured threat replaces authentic purpose. — connects to: Solidarity arises from how groups culturally cultivate their relation to powerlessness — Nina Eliasoph, “Close to home”: The work of avoiding…, 85; Shared identity in crowds produces solidarity and expected mutual support. — John Drury, The role of social identity processes…, 104; Groups reattached war-cultivated solidarity to new enemies after the old one vanished — John Higham, Strangers in the Land: Patterns of…, 1324 (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• Muslim and Black coalition-building deepened shared understanding of intersecting racisms. #exemplifies (0.85)
• Shared identity in crowds produces solidarity and expected mutual support. #expands (0.80) — John Drury, The role of social identity processes…, 104
• Solidarity arises from how groups culturally cultivate their relation to powerlessness #expands (0.78) — Nina Eliasoph, “Close to home”, 85
• Groups reattached war-cultivated solidarity to new enemies after the old one vanished #qualifies (0.72) — John Higham, Strangers in the Land, 1324
• Immigrant-directed solidarity persisted into peacetime because its psychic satisfactions outlived the war #qualifies (0.72)