The Offset and Growth of A.A.

The history of A.A. began in the United states, spread to Canada, and then went worldwide. A.A. presence now exists in more 180 countries. Following is a short history about the beginning of A.A. and some of its cardinal contributors.

A.A.'s First

A.A. began in 1935 in Akron, Ohio, every bit the outcome of a coming together betwixt Pecker W., a New York stockbroker, and Dr. Bob S., an Akron surgeon. Both had been hopeless alcoholics.

Earlier their meeting, Beak and Dr. Bob had each been in contact with the Oxford Group. This generally nonalcoholic fellowship emphasized universal spiritual values in daily living. The Episcopal clergyman, Dr. Samuel Shoemaker,  led the Oxford Groups in the U.S. at that fourth dimension.

Under this spiritual influence, and with the help of an old-fourth dimension friend, Ebby T., Pecker had gotten sober. Bill maintained his recovery by working with other alcoholics. Yet, before meeting Dr. Bob, none of these other alcoholics had really recovered.

At the same fourth dimension, Dr. Bob'south Oxford Grouping membership in Akron had not helped him enough to achieve sobriety. When Dr. Bob and Bill finally met, the outcome on the doctor was immediate. This time, he establish himself face-to-face with a fellow sufferer who was succeeding.

Pecker emphasized that alcoholism was a malady of mind, emotions, and body. Pecker learned this important fact from Dr. William D. Silkworth of Towns Hospital in New York. Bill had often been a patient of Dr. Silkworth. Though a physician, Dr. Bob had non known alcoholism to be a illness. Responding to Bill's disarming ideas, Dr. Bob soon got sober, never to drink again. This sparked the founding of A.A.

Both men immediately set to piece of work with alcoholics at Akron's City Infirmary. 1 patient quickly achieved complete sobriety. These 3 men made upwards the nucleus of the starting time A.A. group (though the name Alcoholics Bearding was not yet used.)

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Growth Starts Slowly, Then Expands Apace

In the autumn of 1935, a second grouping of alcoholics slowly took shape in New York. A 3rd appeared at Cleveland in 1939. It took 4 years to produce virtually 100 sober alcoholics in the three founding groups.

Early in 1939, the Fellowship published its basic textbook, Alcoholics Bearding. The text, written by Pecker and reviewed by many of the early members, explained A.A.'s philosophy and methods. The core of this work is now well-known as the Twelve Steps of recovery. The book besides included case histories of thirty recovered members. From this point, A.A.'s development was rapid.

Also in 1939, The Cleveland Evidently Dealer published a serial of articles virtually A.A.

These articles, accompanied by positive editorials, triggered many pleas for aid in Cleveland. The Cleveland grouping, with just twenty members, sought to assistance those alcoholics. Alcoholics sober merely a few weeks were set to work on brand-new cases. This was a new departure, and the results were fantastic. A few months afterward, Cleveland's membership had expanded to about 500.

Meanwhile, in New York in 1938, Dr. Bob and Bill had organized a trusteeship for the budding Fellowship. Friends of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. became board members alongside a contingent of A.A.south. This lath was named The Alcoholic Foundation. But all efforts to raise large sums of coin failed because Mr. Rockefeller ended that it might spoil the infant social club.

Even then, the foundation managed to open up a tiny office in New York. This function aimed to handle inquiries and to distribute the A.A. book. To date, these efforts had been mostly financed past the A.A.s themselves.

The book and the new function were rapidly put to use. Freedom mag published an commodity about A.A. in the autumn of 1939, resulting in some 800 urgent calls for help. In 1940, Mr. Rockefeller gave a dinner for many of his prominent New York friends to publicize A.A.

This brought yet another flood of pleas. Each enquiry received a personal alphabetic character and a small pamphlet. Attention was as well drawn to the volume Alcoholics Anonymous, which soon began circulating. Aided by mail from the office and A.A. travelers from already-established centers, many new groups began. At the year's end, the membership stood at 2,000.

Then, in March 1941, The Sat Evening Post featured an excellent article by nearly A.A by Jack Alexander. The response was enormous. Past the close of that yr, the membership had jumped to half-dozen,000, and the number of groups multiplied in proportion. The Fellowship spread across the U.S. and Canada.

By 1950, 100,000 recovered alcoholics could exist found worldwide. Spectacular though this was, the flow 1940-1950 was notwithstanding 1 of bully dubiety. The crucial question was whether all those mercurial alcoholics could live and piece of work together in groups. Could they hold together and office finer? This was the unsolved problem. The New York headquarters spent much fourth dimension corresponding with thousands of groups about their questions.

Past 1946, even so, it was possible to draw some conclusions about the kinds of attitude, practise and function that would best suit A.A.'s purpose. Those principles emerged from strenuous group experience. They were summarized past Nib in the Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous. By 1950, the earlier chaos had largely disappeared. A successful formula for A.A. unity and functioning had been achieved and put into practice.

Co-Founder Dr. Bob's Major Bear on in Ohio

During this hectic ten-year flow, Dr. Bob devoted himself to infirmary care for alcoholics. He introduced them to A.A. principles. Large numbers of alcoholics flocked to Akron to receive care at St. Thomas Hospital. Dr. Bob became a member of its staff. He and the fellow staff fellow member, the remarkable Sis Ignatia, cared for and brought A.A. to some 5,000 sufferers. After Dr. Bob's death in 1950, Sister Ignatia continued to work at Cleveland's Charity Hospital.  She was assisted by the local A.A. groups and 10,000 more than sufferers first establish A.A. there. This set a fine example of hospitalization wherein A.A. could cooperate with both medicine and religion.

In this same yr of 1950, A.A. held its first International Convention at Cleveland. There, Dr. Bob made his last appearance and spoke in his last talk of the need to keep A.A. simple. He saw the Twelve Traditions enthusiastically adopted for the permanent employ of the A.A. Fellowship throughout the world. Dr. Bob died on November 16, 1950.

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The Cosmos of the General Service Conference

The following year saw withal another significant event. The New York office had greatly expanded its activities. These now consisted of:

  • public relations
  • advice to new groups
  • services to hospitals
  • prisons, Loners, and Internationalists
  • cooperation with other agencies in the alcoholism field

The headquarters was also publishing "standard" A.A. books and pamphlets. It supervised their translation into other tongues. Our international magazine, AA Grapevine, had achieved a large apportionment. These and many other activities had become indispensable for A.A. equally a whole.

And still, these vital services were still in the hands of an isolated board of trustees. The trustees' but link to the Fellowship had been Pecker and Dr. Bob. As the co-founders had foreseen years earlier, it became absolutely necessary to link A.A.'south trustees with the Fellowship that it served.

Delegates from all states and provinces of the U.S. and Canada were forthwith chosen in. Thus composed, this body for globe service kickoff met in 1951. Despite earlier misgivings, the gathering was a bang-up success. For the first time, the trusteeship became directly accountable to A.A. every bit a whole. The A.A. Full general Service Conference was created, and the over-all operation of A.A. was thereby bodacious for the future.

In 1955, a second International Convention in St. Louis celebrated the Fellowship's 20th ceremony. The Full general Service Briefing had by then completely proved its worth. Here, on behalf of A.A.'southward quondam-timers, Bill turned the future care and custody of A.A. over to the Conference and its trustees. At this moment, the Fellowship went on its own - A.A. had come of age.

A.A. Continues Its Growth Globally

Had information technology not been for A.A.'s early friends, Alcoholics Anonymous might never have come into being. A.A. could never have grown and prospered without many people. Those friends of medicine, religion, and globe communications were particularly essential. We have deep gratitude for their time and effort to help A.A.

On January 24, 1971, Bill died of pneumonia in Miami Beach, Florida. Seven months earlier, in the same place, he had delivered his concluding public words at the 35th Ceremony International Convention. His last words to his beau A.A.southward were: "God bless you and Alcoholics Anonymous forever."

Since then, A.A. has become truly global. This has revealed that A.A.'south way of life can today transcend most barriers of race, creed and linguistic communication. A World Service Coming together, started in 1969, has been held biennially since 1972. Its locations alternating between New York and overseas places such equally England, Mexico, New Zealand, Finland, and more than.

Today, an A.A. presence can be found in approximately 180 nations worldwide. Learn more about A.A. around the world hither.

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