# What happened at the 1950 Cleveland convention?

**In short:**
- In July 1950 A.A. held its first International Convention, in Cleveland, Ohio. Bill W.'s 1957 account puts attendance at about 3,000.
- The convention confirmed the Twelve Traditions, by then in their short form, as the principles A.A. groups and A.A. as a whole would stand on. Bill says the vote was unanimous.
- It was Dr. Bob's last appearance. Already very ill, he gave a short talk: keep the program simple, it comes down to love and service, guard your tongue, and never be too comfortable to help the next alcoholic.
- The sources present it as a turning point: from then on A.A.'s unity would rest on the Traditions rather than on its founders.

## What the Big Book says (1955)

The Foreword to the Second Edition, written five years later, describes the Traditions and then says: "Though none of these principles had the force of rules or laws, they had become so widely accepted by 1950 that they were confirmed by our first International Conference held at Cleveland." (p. xix). The foreword calls it a "Conference"; the other sources call it a convention.

## Bill W.'s accounts

**P-44, *A.A.'s Legacy of Service*** (Bill W., text through 1955). When the Traditions were first published in 1946 many groups ignored or resented them (P-44). Five years later, several thousand members meeting at Cleveland declared that the Traditions "constituted the platform upon which our Fellowship could best function and hold together in unity for all time to come" (P-44).

***A.A. Comes of Age* (1957).** "About 3,000 were in attendance." (A.A. Comes of Age, 1957). Bill names two highlights: Dr. Bob's last appearance, and the confirmation of the Traditions as the permanent platform of the fellowship (A.A. Comes of Age, 1957). The long form of 1946 had already been condensed into the short form that matches the Steps in length, and the Grapevine had printed it in every issue, so most members knew it by the time the convention met (A.A. Comes of Age, 1957).

Bill says those present sensed that Dr. Bob and other early members would soon be gone: "In the future we could no longer depend upon the authority and influence of our pioneering people for A.A. unity." (A.A. Comes of Age, 1957). "Henceforth we would have to rely upon spiritual principles, as set forth in the Twelve Traditions." (A.A. Comes of Age, 1957). Several speakers presented the Traditions, Bill summed them up and asked for approval, and the convention consented with one voice: "It was a fine hour in that month of July, 1950." (A.A. Comes of Age, 1957).

**P-43, *Twelve Traditions Illustrated* (1971)** gives the same outline: the Traditions came out of A.A.'s first ten years, were published in the long form in 1946, and "By 1950, they had been condensed to their present form and were adopted by A.A.'s First International Convention." (P-43).

## Dr. Bob's last talk

P-53 says that in 1950, ill with the cancer that killed him that November, Dr. Bob found the strength for a brief appearance at Cleveland, where he pleaded: "Let's not louse it all up with Freudian complexes and things that are interesting to the scientific mind" (P-53), which have little to do with A.A. work (P-53).

*Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers* (1980) prints the whole short talk and notes that people usually remember only the line about simplicity, "But Dr. Bob said a good deal more than that" (Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers, 1980). In it he says he had been in bed five of the last seven months (Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers, 1980), and makes three points:
- Keep it simple, because the Steps "resolve themselves into the words 'love' and 'service.'" (Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers, 1980).
- Guard the tongue, and use it with kindness, consideration and tolerance (Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers, 1980).
- None of us would be here if someone hadn't taken time to help us, so never become so complacent that we won't extend that help to others (Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers, 1980).

The same book says the effort left him so weak that he had to leave the stage at once (Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers, 1980). The talk is about carrying the message, the same work Chapter 7 asks for.

## What our sources don't settle
- **Attendance.** *Comes of Age* says about 3,000 (A.A. Comes of Age, 1957); P-44 says "several thousand" (P-44). Our sources have no other count.
- **Exact days.** Our sources give only "July, 1950" (A.A. Comes of Age, 1957) and "the summer of 1950" (A.A. Comes of Age, 1957).

## Read it yourself
- Foreword to the Second Edition (pp. xv–xxi), free from A.A.: https://www.aa.org/sites/default/files/2021-11/en_bigbook_forewordsecondedition.pdf
- The Twelve Traditions, Appendix I (pp. 561–566): https://www.aa.org/sites/default/files/2021-11/en_bigbook_appendicei.pdf
- P-44, *A.A.'s Legacy of Service*, on aa.org: https://www.aa.org/aas-legacy-service
- P-53, *The Co-Founders of Alcoholics Anonymous*: https://www.aa.org/sites/default/files/literature/P-53_0725.pdf
- *A.A. Comes of Age* and *Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers* are sold by A.A. World Services: https://onlineliterature.aa.org
- Related: *What changed in A.A. between 1939 and 1950?* · *When did Dr. Bob die, and what were his last words to A.A.?*

## Sources
| Source | Pages | Date |
|---|---|---|
| *Alcoholics Anonymous*, Foreword to the Second Edition | xix | 1955 |
| P-44, *A.A.'s Legacy of Service* (Bill W.) | — | text through 1955; pamphlet © 2018 |
| *A.A. Comes of Age* | — | 1957 |
| P-43, *Twelve Traditions Illustrated* | — | © 1971 |
| P-53, biographical sketch of Dr. Bob | — | pamphlet © 2017 |
| *Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers* | — | 1980 |

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,* A.A. Comes of Age *and* Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers *are © A.A. World Services, Inc.*