Alcoholics Anonymous was founded in 1935 and a great deal has been written about the program and its membership, but little has been done on how it reflects the 1930s and Depression Era culture. Using Warren Susman's writings as a starting point, this dissertation investigates how AA reflects 1930s American culture and what the group can tell us about the era as well. The dissertation begins with examining the temperance and prohibition eras and how they impacted the initial design of the program, especially the writing of the text, Alcoholics Anonymous.
With the advent of World War II, AA, like the rest of the nation underwent enormous changes. In Alcoholics Anonymous's case, the spread and increase of membership was especially profound. The fellowship went from a slow growing, grass roots movement to an international organization almost overnight. Finally, as American culture took a decidedly conservative turn in the postwar and 1950s period, Alcoholics Anonymous changed its message to suit not only the changing political climate but the economic climate as well.
","abstract_html":"<p>Alcoholics Anonymous was founded in 1935 and a great deal has been written about the program and its membership, but little has been done on how it reflects the 1930s and Depression Era culture. Using Warren Susman's writings as a starting point, this dissertation investigates how AA reflects 1930s American culture and what the group can tell us about the era as well. The dissertation begins with examining the temperance and prohibition eras and how they impacted the initial design of the program, especially the writing of the text, Alcoholics Anonymous.</p> <p>With the advent of World War II, AA, like the rest of the nation underwent enormous changes. In Alcoholics Anonymous's case, the spread and increase of membership was especially profound. The fellowship went from a slow growing, grass roots movement to an international organization almost overnight. Finally, as American culture took a decidedly conservative turn in the postwar and 1950s period, Alcoholics Anonymous changed its message to suit not only the changing political climate but the economic climate as well.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Kaufmann, Kevin"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"History","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2011,"date_issued":"2011-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2011-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:54:59Z","subjects":["1930s","1950s","Alcoholics Anonymous","Cultural History","World War II","United States History"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss/73","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Kaufmann, Kevin"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["1970-01-01T11:15:44Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["History"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["1930s","1950s","Alcoholics Anonymous","Cultural History","World War II","United States History"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss/73"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Alcoholics Anonymous was founded in 1935 and a great deal has been written about the program and its membership, but little has been done on how it reflects the 1930s and Depression Era culture. Using Warren Susman's writings as a starting point, this dissertation investigates how AA reflects 1930s American culture and what the group can tell us about the era as well. The dissertation begins with examining the temperance and prohibition eras and how they impacted the initial design of the program, especially the writing of the text, Alcoholics Anonymous.
With the advent of World War II, AA, like the rest of the nation underwent enormous changes. In Alcoholics Anonymous's case, the spread and increase of membership was especially profound. The fellowship went from a slow growing, grass roots movement to an international organization almost overnight. Finally, as American culture took a decidedly conservative turn in the postwar and 1950s period, Alcoholics Anonymous changed its message to suit not only the changing political climate but the economic climate as well.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Rigorous Honesty: A Cultural History of Alcoholics Anonymous 1935-1960"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Kaufmann, Kevin"],"dc:date.available":["1970-01-01T11:15:44Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Alcoholics Anonymous was founded in 1935 and a great deal has been written about the program and its membership, but little has been done on how it reflects the 1930s and Depression Era culture. Using Warren Susman's writings as a starting point, this dissertation investigates how AA reflects 1930s American culture and what the group can tell us about the era as well. The dissertation begins with examining the temperance and prohibition eras and how they impacted the initial design of the program, especially the writing of the text, Alcoholics Anonymous.
With the advent of World War II, AA, like the rest of the nation underwent enormous changes. In Alcoholics Anonymous's case, the spread and increase of membership was especially profound. The fellowship went from a slow growing, grass roots movement to an international organization almost overnight. Finally, as American culture took a decidedly conservative turn in the postwar and 1950s period, Alcoholics Anonymous changed its message to suit not only the changing political climate but the economic climate as well.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss/73"],"dc:subject":["1930s","1950s","Alcoholics Anonymous","Cultural History","World War II","United States History"],"dc:title":["Rigorous Honesty: A Cultural History of Alcoholics Anonymous 1935-1960"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["History"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:54:59Z"}