Alcoholics Anonymous and Its Original Akron Program

A.A. History Fragment Number Five

By Dick B.

The original Alcoholics Anonymous “Program”—the one founded by Bill W. and Dr. Bob in 1935; the one Dr. Bob called a “Christian Fellowship;” and the one with the documented, 75% success rate among those seemingly-hopeless, medically-incurable alcoholics who really tried--is specifically described in A.A. General Service Conference-approved literature. This is not the program embodied in 1939 in A.A.’s basic text, Alcoholics Anonymous (commonly called the “Big Book”). On pages 130-31 of DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers (New York, NY: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.), 1980, the following is recorded: 

      In meeting with a number of men, their wives, and “in some cases, their mothers,” Mr. Amos heard varying stories, “many of them almost miraculous.” He notes, however, when it came to recovery, they were all remarkably alike in “the technique and the system followed.” He described the “Program” as follows: 

      1. An alcoholic must realize that he is an alcoholic, incurable from a medical viewpoint, and that he must never again drink anything with alcohol in it.

      2. He must surrender himself absolutely to God, realizing that in himself there is no hope.

      3. Not only must he want to stop drinking permanently, he must remove from his life other sins such as hatred, adultery, and others which frequently accompany alcoholism. Unless he will do this absolutely, Smith and his associates refuse to work with him.

      4. He must have devotions every morning—a ‘quiet time’ of prayer and some reading from the Bible and other religious literature. Unless this is faithfully followed, there is grave danger of backsliding.

      5. He must be willing to help other alcoholics get straightened out. This throws up a protective barrier and strengthens his own willpower and convictions.

      6. It is important, but not vital, that he meet frequently with other reformed alcoholics and form both a social and a religious comradeship.

      7. Important, but not vital, that he attend some religious service at least once weekly.

      Mr. Amos said, “All the above is being carried out faithfully by the Akron group, and not a day passes when there is not one or more victims to work on, with Smith as their leader by common consent.”

      Stressing Dr. Bob’s importance in the work at Akron, Frank Amos went on to note that even though there were other able men in the group, they all looked to Dr. Bob for leadership. 

For documentation of Amos’ report that alcoholics had been “cured by Smith and his friends’ activities, and the Christian technique prescribed,” see DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers, page 129. For documentation that Dr. Bob (and others) referred to the early Akron meetings as “a Christian fellowship,” see Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers, page 118. For documentation that the early AAs were specifically required, both at the Akron City Hospital and at the subsequent regular meetings, to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior, see Mitchell K., How It Worked: The Story of Clarence H. Snyder and the Early Days of Alcoholics Anonymous in Cleveland, Ohio (Washingtonville, NY: AA Big Book Study Group, 1997), pages 58 and 70. For details about the early Akron Christian fellowship program, see Dick B., When Early AAs Were Cured and Why, 3rd ed. (Kihei, HI: Paradise Research Publications, Inc., 2006), pages 31-36.

Contact Dick B. via email at: dickb@dickb.com. Visit his main website at: www.DickB.com.  

Gloria Deo

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