J.K. Rowling Introduces MACUSA: Magic In North America #3

MACUSA – The Magical Congress of the United States of America – will feature heavily in Fantastic Beasts. Created in 1693, it’s an important part of North American wizarding history, and illustrates the importance of the Salem Witch Trials in creating the heavily guarded community of wizards we see in 1920’s America.

J.K. Rowling has written an extensive article on Pottermore, detailing all manner of information about the organisation, which has been referred to as ‘ basically the US version of the Ministry of Magic’. Turns out it’s way more complex than that (not a surprise, this is J.K. Rowling we’re talking about!):

MACUSA was modeled on the Wizards’ Council of Great Britain, which predated the Ministry of Magic. Representatives from magical communities all over North America were elected to MACUSA to create laws that both policed and protected American wizardkind.

Here’s everything we now know about #MACUSA (including its common pronunciation, Mah-cooz-ah): https://t.co/a3wCTLxurO pic.twitter.com/cacYpwfQC7

— Pottermore (@pottermore) October 6, 2016

New from @jk_rowling, read the intriguing history of #MACUSA on Pottermore: https://t.co/MliZnMKtzR pic.twitter.com/jRBjfTy2nL

— Pottermore (@pottermore) October 6, 2016

Pottermore’s summary article gives you an idea of the kinds of content in the article, which was made to prepare people for the release of Fantastic Beasts in cinemas next month (November 18th):

“Today on Pottermore you can read about how the American equivalent of the Ministry of Magic was founded following the tragic Salem Witch Trials; the history of MACUSA’s famous leaders and the original twelve American Aurors who enforced its laws – some with rather familiar family names.

“‘The Magical Congress of the United States of America’ will explore even more of America’s magical beginnings before you see Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.”

In a companion video, J.K. Rowling explains the choices involved in exploring MACUSA in Fantastic Beasts:

America, 1693. It’s time to explore the roots of the Magical Congress of the United States of America: https://t.co/MliZnMKtzR #MACUSA pic.twitter.com/TJUl5pnSLP

— Pottermore (@pottermore) October 6, 2016

The organisation has been pretty elusive throughout history, which worked to its benefit as its aims were focussed on law enforcement – chasing down wizard criminals (we wonder what they think about Newt’s briefcase?):

“MACUSA’s primary aim was to rid the continent of Scourers, corrupt wizards who had hunted their fellow magical beings for personal gain. MACUSA’s second great law enforcement challenge was the number of wizarding criminals who had fled to America from Europe and beyond, precisely because of the lack of organised law enforcement such as existed in their own countries.”

Rowling also hints at the challenges with setting Newt’s story in a completely different country to Harry’s story: there’s a whole new environment to navigate, with separate people, different challenges to face and all this in a completely different era!:

“America remained one of the most hostile environments for magical people, mainly because of Scourer descendants who had vanished permanently into the No-Maj community and who kept suspicion of magic alive. Unlike most Western countries, there was no cooperation between the No-Maj government and MACUSA.”

The article also talks about how MACUSA ends up in New York by the time Mr Scamander comes to the Big Apple – an Umbridge-esque leader in Washington led to a sasquatch uprising, meaning their base had to move 1n 1892:

“MACUSA needed a new refuge, and over the course of several years, wizards infiltrated the construction team of a new building in New York. By the time the Woolworth Building was completed it could both house No-Majs and – if activated by the correct spells – transform into a space for wizards. The only outer mark of the MACUSA’s new secret location was the owl carved over the entrance.”

Of course Rowling indicates where the story will be going come the 1920s, but doesn’t indicate what will happen in the film (so don’t worry about spoilers!):

“In the 1920s the President of MACUSA was Seraphina Picquery from Savannah. The Department of Magical Law Enforcement was headed by Percival Graves, a well-respected descendant of one of the original twelve American Aurors.”

We definitely recommend reading the article, it’s great to learn about the stories from J.K. Rowling herself, and we imagine this is pretty essential knowledge if you want to make the most of seeing the film. The production team is all about detail (the studio tours and Mina Lima exhibit are testament to this!) so this article will help make sure you don’t miss any come November! Read it here.