Postwar Americans’ collective confidence came from remembered shared accomplishments.

Evidence

We were a “can do” people, who accomplished whatever we set out to do. We had licked the Depression, turned the tide in World War II, and rebuilt Europe after the war…. Freedom Summer was an audacious undertaking consistent with the exaggerated sense of importance and potency shared by the privileged members of America’s postwar generation. — Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone The Collapse and Revival…, 31

Categorization

• XREF: The ‘can do’ shared-accomplishment framing strongly echoes the reader’s theme that solidarity can form through positive shared projects like winning wars and rebuilding, not enemy-based mobilization. — connects to: America’s postwar civic engagement peaked despite widespread discrimination and inequality. — Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone The Collapse and Revival…, 29; A group’s shared belief in its own power predicts its persistence and achievements. — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement: How People Do Harm…, 2825; Shared confidence in group power boosts effort and achievement — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement: How People Do Harm…, 2825 (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• A group’s shared belief in its own power predicts its persistence and achievements. #corroborates (0.80) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 2825
• Shared confidence in group power boosts effort and achievement #expands (0.80) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 2825
• Postwar reconstructionists saw the war’s social gains as a foundation for permanent social justice #qualifies (0.80) — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order, 240
• Common knowledge of mutual confidence makes a focal point self-sustaining #expands (0.75) — Thomas C. Schelling, The Strategy of Conflict, 667
• Shared identity in crowds produces solidarity and expected mutual support. #expands (0.75) — John Drury, The role of social identity processes…, 104