What Is the History of AA?

Today, Alcoholic Anonymous and AA are synonymous terms that symbolize successful recovery for addicted drinkers through group meetings and strict guidelines. The beginnings of this now widespread organization began just as the restrictions of Prohibition were being lifted.

The Oxford Group

• One of the key ingredients of the beginning of Alcoholics Anonymous was the visit of a Vermont man named Rowland H. to the noted Swiss psychoanalyst Carl Jung. Rowland sought help curing his alcoholism. Jung believed Rowland was in dire need of spiritual help, so he referred the young man to the Oxford Group, a popular religious fellowship of the day. Rowland brought fellow Vermonter Edwin T. to the group, and both were eventually cured by following a strict set of principles for clean living.

Drinking Buddies

• After being hospitalized in 1934, one of Edwin's drinking buddies, onetime successful stockbroker Bill W., found help for his severe alcoholism through a spiritual awakening. Slowly, over a period of five years, a small group of recovered alcoholics became involved with identifying and helping other people with the disease. Instead of medical recovery, the emphasis was on spiritual matters. The group practiced self-improvement by performing a list of steps that included including admitting wrongs, making amends, prayer and meditation, and reaching out to other alcoholics.

AA Moves Forward

• Alcoholics Anonymous was formally incorporated on August 11, 1938, when some of the original group got money from a Rockefeller acquaintance and set up an Alcoholics Foundation. Soon thereafter, the 12 steps to recovery were written and expanded to book form. In May 1939, the first actual AA meeting occurred in Cleveland, Ohio, using the 12 steps and the book.