Magical Congress of the United States of America

Magical Congress of the United States of America
Organisation information
Founded	1693
Leader(s)	President of the Magical Congress of the United States of America Samuel G. Quahog (in 2014)
Headquarters	Woolworth Building, New York
Intentions	Govern the magical community of the United States of America
Affiliation	International Confederation of Wizards

The Magical Congress of the United States of America (shortened MACUSA) is the magical body in charge of governing the wizarding population of the United States of America. It is led by the President of the Magical Congress of the United States of America. Unlike the Muggle United States Congress, which is divided into a House of Representatives and a Senate, the MACUSA is unicameral. The MACUSA is located in the Woolworth Building downtown New York City.

Functions

The MACUSA performs many of the same functions as other wizarding governing bodies in other countries such as the Ministries of Magic or Councils of Magic.

History

Early years

The Magical Congress of the United States of America was established in 1693, as a direct result of the Salem Witch Trials, thus pre-dating the No-Maj government by around a century. The first task of the North American wizarding legislature was to put on trial the Scourers, a unscrupulous and brutal band of wizarding bounty hunters and racketeers, executing those convicted of murder, wizard-trafficking, and torture.

The inside of the MACUSA, 1926.

MACUSA has had to move its location at least five times since its inception. Due to the indiscretions of the dim-witted witch Dorcus Twelvetrees, the then President Emily Rappaport created Rappaport's Law which would enforce strict segregation between the No-Maj and wizarding communities. Henceforth wizards were no longer allowed to befriend or marry No-Majs and penalties of such fraternization were harsh. Communication was also limited to that necessary to perform daily activities. During this time MACUSA worked strictly independent of itself from the No-Maj government to decrease the possibility of exposure.

Under Rappaport's Law, MACUSA continued to avoid communication with the No-Maj community for many years and MACUSA also continued to impose severe penalties on those who disobeyed the International Statute of Secrecy.

After the Great Sasquatch Rebellion of 1892, MACUSA was forced to relocate its headquarters for the fifth time in its history, and moved from Washington DC to New York City at the Woolworth Building where it remained throughout the 1920s.

Sometime at the end of the 19th century, a legislation was introduced which would require all American wizards and witches to have a permit allowing them to carry a wand, a measure that was intended to keep tabs on all magical activity and identify the perpetrators by their wands.

Unlike the No-Maj community which had a strict Prohibition law against alcohol for many years, MACUSA allowed the wizarding community to consume alcohol. Though many criticized this policy, pointing out that it made witches and wizards rather conspicuous around sober No-Majs. However in a light-hearted moment, the then President Seraphina Picquery stated that being a wizard or witch in America was already hard enough and at one point famously told her Chief of Staff that the "Gigglewater" was non-negotiable.

During his time in America in the 1920s, Newt Scamander is known to have visited the Magical Congress of the United States.

Present time

The current President of MACUSA and thus leader of American wizarding society is President Samuel G. Quahog.

Following the kidnapping of Hans the Augurey by American fans celebrating the American team's success in the quarter-finals of the 2014 Quidditch World Cup against Liechtenstein, several terse letters were exchanged between President Quahog and Otto Obermeier, Minister for Magic of Liechtenstein. Luckily, Hans was returned the following day, 9 June 2014, and the relationship between the two countries seemed not to have been too damaged.

Personnel

Presidents

• Emily Rappaport (c. 1790; 15th President of the MACUSA)
• Seraphina Picquery (throughout the 1920s)
• Samuel G. Quahog (in office by 2014)

Other personnel

• Aristotle Twelvetrees - Keeper of Treasure and Dragots
• Percival Graves - Auror, right-hand man of Seraphina Picquery
• Porpentina Goldstein - Formerly Auror, demoted

Gallery

MACUSA MINA.jpg

MACUSA logo as seen on Magic in North America

Behind the scenes

The MACUSA's emblem greatly resmbles the observe side of the Great Seal of the United States, which is also used as the coat of arms of the United States of America, albeit with many differences.

• Only the bald eagle proper, the stars, & the escutcheon remains; while the other elements from the No-Maj counterpart (the crest, the talons, the 13-leaved olive branch & the 13 arrows, & the scroll with motto) are absent (perhaps to differentiate themselves from the No-Majs, e.g. Rappaport's Law).
  • In contrast to its No-Maj counterpart, the bald eagle dominates the entire emblem as a blue silhouette (with variations in shading), and its head & beak faces towards the viewer's right (the No-Maj counterpart faces towards the viewer's left).
  • Beneath the bald eagle's outstretched wings are 3 tounges of flame on each side, perhaps symbolizing the Salem Witch Trials; the MACUSA was established as a direct result of the aftermath, and is therefore used as a tool in rationale for its foundation & legitimization.
  • The escutcheon (in the eagle's breast, which seems to blend in with the eagle) is much larger than its No-Maj counterpart (perhaps in proportion to the size of the bald eagle), with its bottom reaching to halfway of the border. Its chief (like its No-Maj counterpart) is also blue (therefore violating the heraldic rule of tincture of "no colour on colour" since the eagle's breast is also blue of the "azure" shade), but unlike its No-Maj counterpart, contains 30 white stars (in 5 irregular rows). The coloring of its paleways (the stripes; also 13 pieces) are in reverse of its No-Maj counterpart (outermost sides in white), resembling the vertical display of the flag of the United States.
  • The bald eagle's head has 29 radiating lines up to its wings in the background, termed in heraldry as "glory". But unlike its No-Maj counterpart (above the eagle's head is a crest of 13 white stars arranged in a six-pointed star pattern, on a blue field within a yellow glory breaking through a cloud proper), the "glory" ends up to the borders of the eagle's outstretched wings, and within the space are 18 randomly positioned stars (which is similar to the early committee designs for the No-Majs' counterpart seal, described as a "constellation"; it was in 1782 when the first die was made that the six-pointed star pattern (after English heraldry) was adopted for the No-Maj seal).
• The emblem contains altogether 48 stars, symbolizing the number of states of America by the 1920's.
  • The 48th state, Arizona, was admitted in 14 February 1912. Alaska & Hawaii were both to be admitted in 1959 (7 months apart).
  • This comes as problematic in the case of the emblem's history.
    • As MACUSA was established in 1693 and prior to the 1776 establishment of the No-Maj government "America" only consisted of the Thirteen Colonies (which later became the first states upon the No-Maj declaration of independence and officialized upon the ratification of the 1787 No-Maj Constitution), it would become improbable if the emblem was made as it is with 48 stars.
    • Perhaps the emblem was made as an emulation of the obverse of the Great Seal, for in 15 September 1789, the No-Maj Congress ordered & declared it to be the seal of the United States (after 7 years in No-Maj usage after the final design and the casting of the first die of the seal).
  • Most likely the MACUSA emblem is similar with the Seal of the President of the United States (which uses a variation of the obverse of the Great Seal), since it has the similar concept of having stars conforming to the current states admitted to the Union (having in its current design 50 stars surrounding the shield and crest).
    • As the MACUSA functions as all three branches of government (like its European counterparts) and its leader is the "President", it is more likely this was the intention.
    • Three known older seals exist whose provenances match with the number of stars conforming to the number of states admitted in the Union.
    • The present design of the No-Majs' presidential seal dates to 25 October 1945, when Truman issued Executive Order 9646 which defined & specified the seal's design, and had 48 stars (like that of MACUSA's, only 20 years into the future from the FBWTFT timeline). The design changed with Alaska and Hawaii's admission into the union under Eisenhower (with corresponding Executive Orders), with the last change in 1960, from which the current seal is used.

Appearances

• Pottermore
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (film) (First appearance)