Tradition 4 · April 16

The Whole of New York State

Daily Traditions · April 16

The threat

No single body may act for every A.A. group at once, and A.A. learned that from a lease. The first A.A. club in New York took over rooms on West 24th Street, and a corporation was formed to hold the lease. Bill W. wrote in 1947 (A.A. pamphlet P-17, p. 19) that it was titled "Alcoholics Anonymous of New York, Inc." Nobody meant any harm by it. Then: "Only later did we realize we had incorporated the whole of New York State, a mistake recently rectified." Incorporated means set up as a legal company. One clubroom's paperwork had put A.A.'s name over every group in a state, and none of them had been asked. That is why the third sentence of the Long Form exists (Big Book, p. 563): "And no group, regional committee, or individual should ever take any action that might greatly affect A.A. as a whole without conferring with the trustees of the General Service Board." The trustees look after A.A.'s shared services and its Traditions. Today the same mistake comes with a logo: a program, a website or a local committee using A.A.'s name as if it held the name for a whole city. Test it tonight: ask who decided that anything calling itself A.A. in your town could speak for every group in it.

Sit with

One clubroom's paperwork put A.A.'s name over a whole state, and nobody asked the groups. Who in my town uses A.A.'s name for groups that never agreed to it?

Grounded in: Long form, Tradition 4 (Big Book, p. 563); P-17, p. 19 (Bill W., "Clubs in A.A.", 1947).

Tradition 4

"Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or A.A. as a whole."

Read the Long Form (pp. 563–566). The short form on pp. 561–562 is the one everybody quotes — but the Long Form is where the Traditions actually say what they mean. Tradition 3's "no other affiliation" clause, for instance, exists only in the Long Form. That single clause is why no treatment centre can own an A.A. group. Most of what circulates online skips it.

And a distinction worth keeping straight: the Traditions are governance, not theology. They bind A.A. groups and the Fellowship — not individuals, and not outside businesses. They were adopted in 1950 to keep A.A. from being owned or co-opted. They are not a rulebook for your personal life.

What the Traditions actually say → The Long Form, p. 563 → Search the Big Book → Every day this month →

Ask Recovery Einstein about Tradition 4 → Get the app →

← April 15Improve on Our Methods Tradition 4All of April April 17 →Dutiful Children

Daily Traditions is an independent educational resource from Recovery Starts — not official A.A. literature, not affiliated with Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, and not medical advice. The Twelve Traditions are the property of A.A. Page references are to Alcoholics Anonymous (the Big Book), 4th Edition: short form 561–562, long form 563–566. If you're in crisis, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline).