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What changed in A.A. between 1939 and 1950?

In short:

  • A.A. grew from about 100 members in 1939 to about 8,000 by the end of 1941, and Dr. Bob put it at about 70,000 in late 1948.
  • The message started travelling by book, mail and travelling members instead of only face to face, and a small New York office grew up to answer letters and help new groups.
  • Fast growth brought quarrels over membership, money, leadership and publicity. Out of that experience came the Twelve Traditions, first published in 1946 and confirmed by the fellowship at Cleveland in 1950.
  • Leadership began to pass from the founders to the fellowship itself, and in 1950 the trustees authorized Bill and Dr. Bob to plan a General Service Conference, which first met in 1951. Dr. Bob died in November 1950.

The main account: Foreword to the Second Edition (1955)

The 1955 foreword gives the story of these years in about two pages (pp. xvii–xix):

The book and the name. The book came out in the spring of 1939, and the nameless fellowship "now began to be called Alcoholics Anonymous, from the title of its own book" (p. xvii).

Publicity and the mail. A Liberty magazine article in the fall of 1939 brought 800 inquiries to the small New York office; each was answered, members travelling on business were sent to the prospects, and new groups started (p. xviii). Everyone was surprised to find that "A.A.'s message could be transmitted in the mail as well as by word of mouth" (p. xviii). John D. Rockefeller, Jr.'s dinner for A.A. in 1940 brought more inquiries, and membership reached 2,000 by March 1941 (p. xviii). Then Jack Alexander's Saturday Evening Post article, and "By the close of 1941, A.A. numbered 8,000 members." (p. xviii). "A.A. had become a national institution." (p. xviii).

Growing pains. The foreword calls what followed an adolescent period. Could so many erratic alcoholics work together? "Would there be quarrels over membership, leadership, and money?" (p. xviii). Those problems came, in every group (p. xix). The conviction grew that "A.A.'s had to hang together or die separately" (p. xix).

The Traditions. Just as members had found principles to live by, they had to find principles by which groups and A.A. as a whole could survive (p. xix). The foreword lists them in plain words: no alcoholic excluded, leaders who "might serve but never govern" (p. xix), autonomous groups, no professional class, no fees or dues, the least possible organization, attraction rather than promotion, anonymity in the media, and no endorsements, alliances or public controversy (p. xix). It adds that "none of these principles had the force of rules or laws" (p. xix), but by 1950 they were so widely accepted that the first International Conference at Cleveland confirmed them (p. xix).

Details from Bill W.'s later accounts

P-44, A.A.'s Legacy of Service (text through 1955; pamphlet © 2018): - The Rockefeller dinner was held early in February 1940. His son, speaking for him, said A.A. would need little or no money, and Rockefeller gave $1,000; Bill later saw that this saved A.A. from property management and professionalism (P-44). - A two-room office opened on Vesey Street in New York; book sales paid for it through 1940, and every letter got a personal reply (P-44). Lists of prospects went to travelling members, who started more groups (P-44). - The Post article ran March 1, 1941; six thousand appeals followed, and the groups were asked for the first time to help pay for the office (P-44). The year began with 2,000 members and ended with 8,000 (P-44). - From the office's mail and public-relations problems came the basic ideas of the Traditions. "The Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous that resulted were first published in the so-called long form in the Grapevine of April 1946." (P-44). At first "Only groups in dire trouble took them seriously." (P-44). Five years later, at Cleveland in 1950, several thousand members declared them A.A.'s platform (P-44). - The founders and a few trustees ran A.A.'s overall services until 1950, and "Since we oldtimers couldn't live on forever" (P-44), a conference representing the members was needed. With Dr. Bob mortally ill, the trustees in 1950 authorized Bill and Dr. Bob to draw up the plan; the first Conference met in April 1951 (P-44).

A.A. Comes of Age (1957): - The New York members had parted from the Oxford Groups in 1937, and the Akron members withdrew later, after the book came out (A.A. Comes of Age, 1957). - The Grapevine began in 1944 (A.A. Comes of Age, 1957); Bill's 1969 talk in P-53 gives the same year (P-53). - The long-form Traditions of 1946 were cut down to the short form starting around 1947, at the suggestion of Earl T. of Chicago, and the Grapevine printed them in every issue (A.A. Comes of Age, 1957). P-43 (1971) also says the 1946 long form had been condensed by 1950 (P-43).

Bill W., 1969 (talk printed in P-53): the oldtimers had run things, but as the troubles grew they began to be taught by the movement: "So, instead of being a teacher for A.A. any more, I, in particular, became a pupil of the Fellowship." (P-53).

Dr. Bob, December 1948 (talk printed in P-53): membership was "conservatively estimated at 70,000" (P-53), and he named what would keep it growing: no entangling alliances, no controversial issues, unity, simplicity, and the job of getting sober and helping others (P-53).

Where the sources differ

  • When A.A. reached 2,000. The 1955 foreword says by March 1941 (p. xviii). P-44 says about 2,000 at the end of 1940 (P-44), and Bill's 1969 talk says "By 1940" (P-53). These are close but not the same.
  • The Rockefeller dinner. The foreword says the spring of 1940 (p. xviii); P-44 says early February 1940 (P-44).

Read it yourself

Sources

Source Pages Date
Alcoholics Anonymous, Foreword to the Second Edition xvii–xix 1955
P-44, A.A.'s Legacy of Service (Bill W.) — text through 1955; pamphlet © 2018
P-53, Dr. Bob's last major talk; Bill W.'s last major talk — December 1948; October 1969; pamphlet © 2017
A.A. Comes of Age — 1957
P-43, Twelve Traditions Illustrated — © 1971

Big Book page numbers are from the fourth edition (2001).

Recovery Starts is independent and not affiliated with Alcoholics Anonymous. Quotations are brief and cited; the Big Book, P-43, P-44, P-53 and A.A. Comes of Age are © A.A. World Services, Inc.; Dr. Bob's 1948 talk in P-53 is © AA Grapevine, Inc.

These pages answer questions about A.A. from A.A.'s own published literature, read in full, with every quote checked word for word against the page it cites. Recovery Starts is independent and not affiliated with Alcoholics Anonymous. What we read, and when each source was written.