The Five Phases of Early A.A. Dick B
C 2007 by Anonymous. All rights reserved

           After completing 18 years of almost continuous research, I can make it

possible for you to have a brief yet comprehensive picture of the five

historical phases of the formation and development of A.A. and its Twelve

Step program from 1935 to 1955. At the latter date, A.A.'s remaining

co-founder Bill W. believed that Alcoholics Anonymous had "come of age" and

arranged a convention for AAs and accompanied it with his historical summary

titled Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age.

            A.A. sprang from solid Christian roots though it later hardly

embodied very many of them and acknowledged almost none by the time of its

twentieth anniversary in 1955.

The Akron Genesis

The first phase should be called the "Akron Genesis" period. It began with

co-founder Dr. Bob's extensive participation as a youngster in the St.

Johnsbury Vermont Congregational Church (where he and family often attended

at least four meetings a week) and the St. Johnsbury society of the

burgeoning United Christian Endeavor Movement. There Dr. Bob had what he

called excellent training in the Bible. And he experienced a Christian

conversion; practiced Christian principles; attended Bible study and prayer

meetings, and Quiet Hour observances; and studied religious literature. All

were pointed toward what Christian Endeavor called "love and service"--a

phrase Bob later used to explain the essence of the 12 Steps.

            Years later, Dr. Bob's youthful leanings were revived during a

period of chronic alcoholism which was accompanying his declining medical

practice. In 1931, a young member of the Firestone family was healed of the

same malady through conversion with the help of Rev. Sam Shoemaker, Jr., an

Episcopal priest from New York.  By early 1933, Firestone's continuing

recovery was celebrated with great public recognition during a ten-day

period when it was trumpeted in newspapers, Akron pulpits, and huge

meetings; and these activities brought Dr. Bob's wife, Henrietta Seiberling,

and two other ladies to the Oxford Group, to its meeting in Akron, and soon

to the formation of a Christian fellowship which met weekly at the home of

T. Henry Williams in Akron. There, at the behest of the group led by

Henrietta Seiberling, Dr. Bob was brought to his knees joining in a group

prayer for his deliverance.

            Those prayers were miraculously answered in a few short weeks in

a very unusual way.

The New York Conversion Genesis

A completely different phase also began in Vermont-this time in the tiny

village of East Dorset.  There the forbears of Bill Wilson-the Wilson family

and the Griffith family-not only lived next to the East Congregational

Church, on either side of it, but were actively involved in it-Bill's

grandfather Willie Wilson being one of its founding members and later an

officer. Bill Wilson studied the Bible, attended Sunday School, visited

temperance and revival meetings, and heard of Grandfather Willie Wilson's

unusual conversion on the top of nearby Mount Aeolus where Willie, a chronic

drinker, cried out  to God for help, was saved, rushed to the altar of his

church, told of his rebirth, and never drank again.

Wilson's further religious involvement continued with daily chapel during

high school years. And then the devastating hiatus during which he succumbed

to the "terrible disease" of alcoholism, as he put it (Big Book, p. 191).

            But other religious factors were at work in Bill's life.

Professor William James of Harvard had done a study of conversions in the

rescue missions where alcoholics had been cured. Dr. Carl Jung was familiar

with the James work. Jung recommended that his patient Rowland Hazard seek

such a conversion as the solution for Rowland's mind of the chronic

alcoholic." Rowland recovered, probably without a conversion, through the

life-changing Oxford Group program. He did carry a special message to Bill's

old drinking companion, Ebby Thacher.

            Ebby had learned the Oxford Group principles, had been lodged at

Rev. Sam Shoemaker's Calvary Rescue Mission, made a decision for Christ

there at the altar, and witnessed to his drunken friend Bill Wilson. He

declared emphatically that God had done for him what he could not do for

himself. Wilson then went himself to the mission altar, made a decision for

Christ, announced he had been born again, and sought further help at Towns

Hospital. Bill's psychiatrist, Dr. William D. Silkworth, was a Christian,

was familiar with the William James writings and the Carl Jung thesis, and

advised Bill--as Silkworth had advised other patients--that the Great

Physician Jesus Christ could heal Bill. And, while at the hospital, Bill

decided to call on the Great Physician for help, did so, and had a

conversion experience much like that his grandfather Willie had on the

Vermont mountain many years before. Consulting the writing of William James,

Bill concluded he had experienced a genuine conversion like those at the

mission altars; and his conclusion was validated by the opinions of Dr.

Silkworth and Bill's wife Lois. Like his grandfather Willie, Bill Wilson

never drank again.

            There is good evidence that Bill began feverishly witnessing to

other drunks at Towns Hospital, at the Calvary Rescue Mission, and at Oxford

Group meetings. His message was probably that quoted in A.A.'s Big Book on

page 191: "The Lord has been so wonderful to me curing me of this terrible

disease that I just want to keep telling people about it." But Bill proved

unsuccessful as a messenger and had no success sobering up others.

            Bill then went to Akron on an unsuccessful business deal, had an

urge to drink, and remembered the Oxford Group/Shoemaker adage: "You have to

give Christianity away to keep it." And Bill relentlessly searched for

another drunk to visit. He finally reached Henrietta Seiberling by phone;

and announced to her that he was from the Oxford Group, was a rum hound from

New York, and needed to see another drunk. Fully understanding his plight,

Henrietta declared that Bill was "manna from heaven" and arranged for him to

meet Dr. Bob. And the miracle was about to be completed.

The Original Program Bill and Bob Developed in Akron

When Bob met with Bill, what impressed Bob the most was not Bill's message,

but that Bill was an alcoholic who talked Bob's own language. "Service to

others" was the evident process, Dr. Bob recalled from his Christian

Endeavor days as a youngster in St. Johnsbury. And the two men worked,

talked, and studied together during the summer of 1935 when Bill lived with

the Smiths. The program of outreach began at once, and soon A.A. Number

Three, Akron lawyer Bill Dotson, was cured.

The principles that evolved were quite simple. From the Salvation Army and

Rescue Mission experiences, they adopted abstinence as the beginning rule.

From Bob's own medical background, and Bill's experience at Towns,

hospitalization became the next step. From there, recovery shifted to Akron

homes where there was shelter, love, food, Bible study, prayer, counseling,

and quiet time. Once a week, a meeting--which Bob called a Christian

Fellowship--was held at T. Henry's home. There were no personal stories, nor

basic texts, nor steps. And a very simple procedure was followed. There was

an opening prayer, reading from the Bible-primarily from the Book of James,

the Sermon on the Mount, and 1 Corinthians 13--, discussion of a biblical

topic, group prayer and seeking guidance, a surrender to Christ upstairs

where acceptance of Christ, prayer to live according to his teachings, and

prayer in his name that God take alcohol out of the man's life concluded the

prayer session. Downstairs, they arranged hospital visits and closed their

weekly meeting with the Lord's Prayer. Religious literature was distributed

at the meeting, and also by Dr. Bob and Anne themselves. Anne held morning

Quiet Time meetings where she read to AAs and their families from her

journal, read the Bible, led prayers, and led discussions. And for those who

really tried, the results were astonishing.

            By 1938, the Akron Number One Group had achieved a 75%

documented success record with seemingly-hopeless, medically-incurable

alcoholics who really tried. At Bill Wilson's urging, John D. Rockefeller,

Jr., sent his agent Frank Amos to Akron to investigate and report.  Amos

soon described a simple, seven-point program led by Dr. Bob: (1) Abstinence.

(2) Reliance on the Creator. (3) Obedience to God. (4) Growth in fellowship

through Bible study, prayer, guidance and reading. (5) Helping other

alcoholics to do likewise. (6) Fellowshipping with like-minded believers

(recommended but not required). (7) Attendance at a church of choice once

weekly (recommended but not required). 

The Works Publishing Company Big Book Phase

By a bare majority vote, Bill secured, primarily from the Akron AAs,

permission to write a book which was to convey to the world the highly

successful and proven Akron principles and practices. Dr. Bob supported

Bill's idea and the vote which authorized Bill's writing of the book.

But Bill virtually ignored voters' intent and conditions. He could easily

have incorporated in his new book his own idea that a conversion was the

solution for real, medically-incurable alcoholics who really tried. He could

easily then have incorporated the simple, seven-point, program that

Akronites had developed with his help and the leadership of Dr. Bob. He

could have included his own "Bill's Story" and given similar significance to

Dr. Bob's personal story. He could have concluded by publishing the personal

stories of those alcoholics who had in fact found God, established a

relationship with Him, sought His help, and been cured of alcoholism. And he

could have made sure that the stories were those of the forty pioneers who

had been cured to the tune of 75% in the program which Frank Amos

investigated in Akron. Bill could have, but he didn't.

Instead, Bill alleged that there had been a six-point, word-of-mouth

program; yet he presented several different versions of those points. And

then he abandoned the Akron requirement of acceptance of Christ, picked up

on the Oxford Group idea that it didn't matter much just what you called God

as long as you conceded that you needed a "power greater than yourself" in

order to change. He could have drawn on the twenty-eight Oxford Group

life-changing principles which frequently cited the Bible, codified many

ideas from it, and was based on Frank Buchman's own Christian conversion

experience. Instead Bill closeted himself with Rev. Sam Shoemaker; and, as

he put it, was taught the life-changing principles in Shoemaker language.

Bill trashed the "conversion" solution and instead adopted a "spiritual

experience" as what he believed would transform and empower an individual;

he later watered that phrase down to "spiritual awakening;" and finally he

watered it further to just a personality change-something which

psychiatrists, including Carl Jung, had been trying unsuccessfully for

decades to adapt to a cure for alcoholism.

Then, to accomplish the cure and yet also seemingly to explain relapse cases

of alcoholics, Bill adopted the language of a lay therapist (Richard

Peabody) who had died drunk proclaiming that there was no cure for

alcoholism. And such has been the proclamation in A.A. literature from 1939

to this day.

To bring about this "no cure" life change, Bill formed a "for-profit"

corporation called Works Publishing Company. He sold stock to AAs and

others. He attempted to finance publication of the book he and Hank

Parkhurst had outlined in their prospectus for potential investors. The end

result was a program that most embodied the Oxford Group life-changing

principles taught by Rev. Sam Shoemaker, an American Oxford Group leader,

and which were codified by Wilson in the Twelve suggested Steps. To be sure,

Bill's Works Publishing Company Big Book and Steps drew from many sources

such as William James, Jung, Silkworth, Richard Peabody, the Oxford Group,

Rev. Sam Shoemaker, and the teachings of Dr. Bob's wife, as well as New

Thought writings, but the text declined mention of the Bible, Christianity,

or the Akron Christian Fellowship program. And so A.A.'s basic text was

published by the Works corporation in the spring of 1939.

Bill and Bob had reached an agreement about A.A. Dr. Bob was to focus on

hospitalizations and Twelve Step approaches while Bill was to focus on wide

promotion of the new program. But medical reasons prevented Bill from making

good on his part of the deal. Many recent A.A. history writers and

biographers have described Bill Wilson's deep and severe depressions which

lasted with scarcely any letup from at least 1943 to 1955. See Mel B., My

Search for Bill W., pp. 22-23, 34-36, 58, 115-17-who reports the long-lived

depression bouts over the years and their devastating effect on Bill's

ability to function in the 1943-1955 period. And Bill's personal secretary

and long-time friend Nell Wing told me during a luncheon with her in New

York: "Dick, the 1940's were just awful. Sometimes Bill would just sit in

the office doing nothing and burning holes in the desk with his cigarette

smoking."

The Reshaping of the A.A. Program Beginning in 1939 and Continuing until

1955

It might be interesting for some to speculate on what the A.A. program today

would look like if Bill Wilson had not been plunged into his final

decade-long, disabling depressions. But as the A.A. ship floundered with its

promotional and articulate co-founder in the dumps, many changes began to

occur. Others began stepping in to fill the gap. We've covered the details

in my titles Real Twelve Step Fellowship History and Introduction to the

Sources and Founding of Alcoholics Anonymous. But here we will just outline

the changes, in chronological order.

            First came Clarence Snyder's defection in May of 1939 where he

took the Big Book, Twelve Steps, Bible, and Oxford Group Four Absolutes and

enabled unequaled growth in A.A.s numbers, growth, and resources in

Cleveland, Ohio.

            Next, in late 1939, came the transition of Akron's original A.A.

Christian Fellowship from its Oxford Group moorings with T. Henry Williams

to meetings in Dr. Bob's home and then soon to meetings at the King School

in Akron.

            By early 1940, Dr. Bob began working with Sister Ignatia at St.

Thomas Hospital. This continued for a decade, retaining most of the original

Akron precepts but adding Sister Ignatia's special religious flavors.

            Though the relationship appears to have had little influence on

A.A. itself at the beginning, Bill's work with Father Ed Dowling, S.J., from

1940 onward kept Bill on a wobbly course between Rev. Sam Shoemaker on the

one side, Father Ed. Dowling on the other, and mental illness in the middle.

            Meanwhile, Richmond Walker emerged from unsuccessful sobriety

years with the Oxford Group to publishing several works including the

Twenty-Four Hours a Day book which has dominated the recovery scene ever

since, was rejected by A.A. itself, and yet was adopted by Hazelden for a

best-seller.

            Soon Ed Webster and others were publishing guides to the Steps,

reorganizing the instructions in the Big Book, and adopting new ways of

indoctrinating newcomers. And the Webster books, particularly The Little Red

Book, were also rejected by A.A. and yet were published by Hazelden.

            Father Ralph Pfau, the first Roman Catholic priest to get sober,

emerged on the scene and began publishing his Golden Book pamphlets right

and left; talking to AAs and others on the

Radio; and finally publishing several larger texts.

            Meanwhile, Anne Smith soon died. Dr. Bob's death followed in a

year. Henrietta Seiberling lost her influential clout with the founders. T.

Henry Williams and his wife were left far behind. And the Bible, Jesus

Christ, and church vanished as A.A. factors.

            Finally, as Bill began emerging from the darkness, he engaged

the help of two Roman Catholic Jesuit priests. They were Father Ed Dowling,

S.J., and Father John C. Ford, S.J. And these men assisted Bill in writing

and editing two new A.A. publications-The Twelve Steps and The Twelve

Traditions, and Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age. Ford's statements, as

well as his correspondence with Bill which I have examined and described in

detail, set the course of editing with a fine tooth comb, removing Oxford

Group tinges from A.A. language, and universalizing its references to the

Creator by adding the "higher power can be your own A.A. group."

            What happened to the Bible, conversions, Jesus Christ, and

religion as respectable recovery topics? As the years rolled on, writers

with an agenda of reshaping, secularizing, and universalizing A.A.'s program

simply dropped these topics from A.A. They propounded alleged new factors

such as "helpful books," "spiritual awakenings," "personality changes,"

"higher powers," "spirituality," and the dogmas that A.A. was not religious,

but spiritual, that only "conference approved" literature should be made

available to members, and that you could believe in "something," "somebody,"

or simply "nothing at all."

Now was the Creator still in the heavens? Was Jesus Christ still at His

right Hand? Was the Bible still the revealed "Word of God" and entitled to

be called the "Good Book?" Were utterances of such ideas to be squelched in

the name of Traditions and Conferences and Inclusion rather than Exclusion?

The answer here is that the Creator, Jesus Christ, the Bible, and religious

literature provided the heart of early A.A.'s basic ideas and successes.

There are still tens of thousands of Christians of all sects, denominations,

and beliefs-as well as suffering alcoholics-who are as much entitled to know

the truth about God and recovery as they were on June 10, 1935-the date of

A.A.'s founding in Akron.

END

Gloria Deo