Basic Information
Location:	United States of America
Afflitiations:	International Confederation of Wizards, Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Overview

The Magical Congress of the United States of America, commonly abbreviated to MACUSA and also referred to as the American Ministry of Magic, was the central magical government responsible for regulating and governing the wizarding population of the United States. The organisation was headed by an official holding the title of President of the Magical Congress of the United States of America.

MACUSA differed distinctly from the No-Maj government of the United States. While the No-Maj United States Congress consisted of two separate legislative chambers, the House of Representatives and the United States Senate, MACUSA operated as a unicameral institution with a single legislative body. Its headquarters were located within the Woolworth Building in downtown New York City.

Headquarters

The headquarters of the Magical Congress of the United States of America (MACUSA) were situated inside the Woolworth Building in New York City, New York. The structure that housed MACUSA was an enormous and imposing building, comparable in grandeur to Gringotts Bank. Its vast interior and exterior were richly decorated in gold, emerald, maroon, and black, giving it an exceptionally grand appearance.

Serving as the American counterpart to the British Ministry of Magic, MACUSA's headquarters possessed a similarly imposing and ominous sense of grandeur.

Functions

The Magical Congress of the United States of America (MACUSA) carried out many of the same responsibilities as other magical governing institutions around the world, including Ministries of Magic and Councils of Magic. MACUSA was established based on the model of the Wizards' Council of Great Britain, an organisation that existed before the creation of the Ministry of Magic. Representatives from magical communities across North America were elected to MACUSA, with the responsibility of establishing laws designed both to regulate and protect the continent's wizarding population.

During its early years, one of MACUSA's main objectives was to eliminate the threat posed by Scourers. These were corrupt witches and wizards who hunted other magical beings for their own personal benefit. The organisation later faced another major challenge in the form of wizarding criminals who had escaped to America from Europe and other regions. Many of these criminals had deliberately travelled to America because the country lacked the organised magical law-enforcement systems that existed in their homelands.

Historical Information

Early years

The Magical Congress of the United States of America (MACUSA) was established in 1693 followed by the introduction of the Statute of Secrecy. It was originally meant as a result of the Salem Witch Trials, so MACUSA was established around a century prior to the No-Maj formation of the United States of America. Josiah Jackson, one of the representatives of the Congress, who was known to be strong enough to deal with the consequences of the Salem Witch Trials, became the first president of MACUSA.

The North American Wizarding Legislature was first tasked to put the Scourers, known as an unscrupulous and brutal band of wizarding bounty hunters and racketeers, on a trial. The Scourers were prosecuted for crimes including Murder, Wizard-trafficking and Torture, and were eventually executed. As the president of MACUSA, Josiah Jackson’s first priority was to create and train Aurors as the Congress originally only had a small, selected group of Aurors known as the original twelve Aurors. Only two of the original Aurors survived to old age. The original Aurors earned the enduring respect of the magical community in North America. This respect was also extended to their descendants.

Moving on, MACUSA created an enchanted edifice in the Appalachian Mountains as their headquarters, which was eventually relocated as it was in an inconvenient location.

18th Century

Since its establishment, MACUSA had changed its location at least five times, and during the initiation, MACUSA originally had no specific meeting place so it was often moved around to avoid getting detected by the No-Maj Community. There was no known cooperation between MACUSA and the No-Maj Government due to the uneasy relationship between the magical and non-magical community in the United States.

Eventually in 1760, MACUSA was moved to Williamsburg where President Thornton lived, who had a habit of breeding crups. Crups possessed a great aggression towards non-magical people, so they started attacking the muggles which led to a serious breach of the Statute of Secrecy. Consequently, President Harkaway stepped down. MACUSA was then moved to Baltimore where President Able Fleming lived. Although as a result of the Revolutionary War, MACUSA was therefore moved to what became Washington later, years before the No-Maj Community built the city.

President Elizabeth McGilliguddy hosted the debate on the question, The Infamous Country or Kind? In 1777, which consequently followed the expansion of the Great Meeting Chamber. The motion of the debate was to argue whether to support their own magical community or their country and whether to fight for the liberation from British Muggles. It started quite the argument because they debated if it really was their fight. The debate didn’t proceed well and caused a fight between the two sides.

Pro-interventionists during the debate showed that they could save lives by intervening while anti-interventionists argued that they would reveal the existence of the magical community by intervening, which could result in severe consequences. However, they contacted the British Ministry of Magic to see if they intervened on their side, to which they replied with a short four word letter, “Sitting this one out”. President McGilliguddy responded with a shorter message of three words stating “Mind you do”. Eventually, they didn’t intervene but attempted to protect their No-Maj community unofficially and joined to celebrate the Independency Day.

In 1790, one of most serious breaches of the Statute of Secrecy was reported when Dorcus Twelvetrees, daughter of MACUSA’s Keeper of Treasure and Dragots Aristotle Twelvetrees, revealed significant details about the wizarding community to someone known as Bartholomew Barebone, a Scourer descendant. He used those details to start a brief, highly damaging crusade to expose the existence of the wizardkind.

In 1790, MACUSA's fifteenth president, Emily Rappaport, presided over one of the largest ever breaches of the Statute of Secrecy when Dorcus Twelvetrees, daughter of MACUSA's Keeper of Treasure and Dragots Aristotle Twelvetrees, unwittingly revealed major details of the wizarding community to a Scourer descendant named Bartholomew Barebone, who subsequently used this information to start a brief, ill-fated but still highly damaging crusade to expose wizardkind. The attempt to create a crusade were unsuccessful, but this situation made things embarrassing for the MACUSA itself. It was forced to move again to relocate their headquarters, and they faced humiliation from the International Confederation of Wizards with President Rappaport – president of MACUSA at that time - herself being forced to admit that she could not be certain that the situation had been entirely contained.

Rappaport’s Law was drafted under the supervision of President Rappaport and passed into law that enforced strict segregation between the No-maj and Wizarding communities. As such, wizards were not allowed to befriend or marry No-Majs anymore, and consequences of such actions were severe.

Communication between the two communities were discouraged and was limited to only if necessary to perform daily tasks. In parallel to this, MACUSA worked independently of the No-Maj government to avoid the possibility of exposure.

19th Century

MACUSA once again changed the location of its headquarters for the fifth time in history after the Great Sasquatch Rebellion of 1892 from Washington to New York City at the Woolworth Building, where it remained throughout the 1920s. Irene Kneedander, Head of the Body for the Protection of Magical Species, had taken to attacking a Sasquatch that had done something wrong, so this rebellion was blamed on him. This resulted in great Obliviations in Washington.

As they needed a new location for the headquarters, wizards gained access to a construction team of a new building in New York. When the Woolworth Building was completely constructed, it became the house to both No-Majs and Wizards, as long as it’s successfully activated by the correct spells. The owl carved over the entrance was the only outer mark of the new secret location.

At some point during the end of the 19th century, a legislation was passed requiring all American Wizards and Witches to have a permit that allows them to carry a wand. This measure was taken to keep track of all magical activity and detect the perpetrators by their wands, which helped to avoid the exposure of the world unnecessarily.

1920s

Rappaport’s Law was still in operation during 1920s and a few offices in MACUSA still had no counterpart in the Ministry of Magic.

While many scholars opposed, MACUSA allowed the wizarding community to consume alcohol unlike the No-Maj Community, which had a strict probation law against alcohol for a long time. Scholars pointed out that it could make witches and wizards conspicuous around sober No-Majs. The president during that time, Seraphine Picquery, argued that being a wizard or a witch in America was already hard enough, and she had told her Chief of Staff that the “Gigglewater was non-negotiable”.

House elves worked at MACUSA during the 1920s, and one such House-elf is reported to have cleaned the wands with a wand polishing machine. Ministries of Magic of USA and UK were significantly different regarding the penalty for a serious crime. In Britain, criminals were sent to Azkaban while they were executed in the USA. The penalty for attempting to escape Azkaban, unlike in America, was a Dementor’s Kiss, which was considered significantly worse than execution itself.

When MACUSA operated under the presidency of Seraphina Picquery, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement was run by Percival Graves, a well-known descendant of one of the original twelve American Aurors. This period was significantly important to MACUSA as it was during that time they had to monitor the terrorist activities of the Dark Wizard Gellert Grindelwald and his followers in Europe while collaborating with the International search for him. Naturally however, Grindelwald’s ideas are reported to have influenced some MACUSA workers.

Gellert Grindelwald had infiltrated MACUSA by 1926 by assuming the identity of Percival Graves, the Director of Magical Security and Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. At the time, MACUSA’s Major Investigation Department was investigating an unknown magical force responsible for causing severe devastation throughout the city. Grindelwald used his high-ranking position to manipulate Credence Barebone into revealing the identity of the mysterious magical force.

In December, Newt Scamander, a British magizoologist, was taken into custody by Tina Goldstein, a former Auror of MACUSA, after his activities with magical creatures unintentionally resulted in multiple violations of the International Statute of Secrecy. The most serious incident began when Scamander accidentally exchanged his case with Jacob Kowalski, a No-Maj, at a bank in New York City. Because of the mix-up, several of Scamander’s magical creatures escaped from the case and began roaming freely. Rather than immediately informing the wizarding authorities, Scamander, Goldstein, and Kowalski joined forces to track down and retrieve the escaped creatures.

By 6 December, MACUSA was also recruiting Obliviators in response to the unusually large number of magical encounters being experienced by No-Majs. These incidents were occurring because of the disturbances Newt Scamander was inadvertently causing throughout New York City.

During this period, the unidentified magical force attacked and killed a No-Maj Senator in during a fundraising dinner. The incident caused further concern within the International Confederation of Wizards, which was already alarmed by the increasing levels recorded by MACUSA’s Magical Exposure Threat Level Measurer. In response, the Confederation sent a delegation to MACUSA Headquarters to conduct an emergency meeting concerning the situation.

During this meeting, Newt Scamander, Tina Goldstein, and Jacob Kowalski were wrongly suspected of being responsible for the Senator’s death and were subsequently arrested. Grindelwald, still posing as MACUSA’s Director of Magical Security, attempted to have the three executed after Scamander and Tina uncovered a clue that could expose his true identity. However, Newt, Tina, and Jacob managed to escape from MACUSA custody, after which they became fugitives.

After Newt Scamander, Tina Goldstein, Queenie Goldstein, and Jacob Kowalski successfully recovered all of the magical creatures that had escaped, Grindelwald discovered that Credence Barebone was the mysterious magical force responsible for the destruction throughout New York. He also revealed that Credence was an Obscurial. Grindelwald then attempted to convince Barebone to join his cause, despite having previously rejected him in a callous manner. This provoked Credence, causing him to transform into his Obscurus form once again and embark on a destructive rampage through the city.

Credence's rampage ultimately led to several major events. MACUSA Aurors seemingly destroyed Credence Barebone, while Gellert Grindelwald's true identity was exposed and he was arrested by MACUSA. Newt Scamander and Tina Goldstein were subsequently pardoned and thanked for their assistance in uncovering Grindelwald's identity. MACUSA also carried out a mass Obliviation of thousands of No-Maj residents across New York City and began a large-scale clean-up operation to repair the extensive property damage caused by the events.

On 30 May 1927, MACUSA, in cooperation with the International Confederation of Wizards, attempted to extradite Gellert Grindelwald, who was being held as a maximum-security prisoner, from New York to Europe. The prisoner was transported in a specially secured flying carriage, which was escorted through the air by several MACUSA Aurors riding broomsticks. Inside the carriage, additional Aurors and Rudolph Spielman, the ICW's Head of Incarceration, were responsible for guarding Grindelwald.

The extradition operation was secretly sabotaged by Abernathy, a former MACUSA employee who had become one of Grindelwald's Acolytes. Abernathy successfully switched places with Grindelwald before the journey, allowing Grindelwald to escape his confinement. During the flight over New York, Grindelwald attacked the transport, taking control of the carriage after assaulting the accompanying Aurors. He also injured Rudolph Spielman and threw him from the carriage into New York Bay. Grindelwald then escaped into the night alongside Abernathy.

2010s

By 2014, Samuel G. Quahog was serving as President of MACUSA, making him the leader of the American wizarding community.

Following the American Quidditch team's victory over Liechtenstein in the quarter-finals of the 2014 Quidditch World Cup, American supporters celebrating the result kidnapped Hans the Augurey. The incident led to a series of tense and sharply worded letters being exchanged between President Quahog and Otto Obermeier, the Minister for Magic of Liechtenstein.

Fortunately, Hans was returned the next day, on 9 June 2014. His safe return helped prevent the incident from causing significant lasting damage to the diplomatic relationship between the United States and Liechtenstein.

2020s

In 2021, the organisation known as the Unforgivable caused a surge of Foundables connected to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, where Ron Weasley worked. During the attack, Ginny Weasley was assaulted, while Ron was abducted by the organisation. The incident succeeded in intimidating both Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. In an effort to locate his best friend, Harry sought assistance from MACUSA, while the attack further strengthened Hermione's determination to bring the cabal to justice.

MACUSA agreed to assist Harry with the investigation and provided him with additional Aurors to help search for Ron and investigate the organisation responsible for his abduction.

Law Enforcement

The first twelve volunteers who underwent training to become Aurors in the United States came to hold a significant place in American wizarding history, particularly because of the sacrifices they made. Their descendants continued to receive special recognition and respect in the years that followed. Of the original twelve, only two lived to an advanced age: Charity Wilkinson, who later became the third President of MACUSA, and Theodard Fontaine. Fontaine's direct descendant, Agilbert Fontaine, was serving as Headmaster of Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry by 2016.

The US Auror Divisions were another important component of MACUSA's law-enforcement structure. These divisions were responsible not only for Auror duties but also for carrying out general police work. Other notable figures included Gondulphus Graves, an ancestor of Percival Graves whose family became influential within American wizarding politics, and Abraham Potter. Centuries later, genealogists established that Abraham Potter was distantly related to the renowned wizard Harry Potter.

As was the case with most other magical governments, MACUSA's Department of Magical Law Enforcement was its largest department.

Departments of MACUSA
Body for Protection of Magical Species	Protection and preservation of the magical creatures in the United States of America	Irene Kneedander
Department of Aurors	Capture of dangerous criminals	Percival Graves Gellert Grindelwald (when disguised as Percival Graves) Porpentina Goldstein
Department of Magical Law Enforcement	Upholding Wizarding Laws in the United States of America	Percival Graves
Department of No-Maj Misinformation	Covering up magical events seen by No-Majs by providing them with wrong information
Department of Unidentifiable Magical Objects	Investigating and destroying unidentifiable magical objects
Department for Confiscated Items	Completing paperwork relating to prohibited items that had been seized by law enforcement
Federal Bureau of Covert Vigilance and No-Maj Obliviation	Hide the wizarding community from the No-Maj population	Ben Copper
MACUSA Surveillance Wizarding Resources Department	Preparing and providing information and support services to American wizards and witches in emergency situations.
Magical Cleaning Department	Responsible for heavy cleaning at the MACUSA
Major Investigation Department	Prevent exposure of magical world and capturing wanted criminals
Office for Magic Relations and Education	Issuing cultural and educational content
Wizarding Resources Department	Answer questions and reporting incidents

Credits/References

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Written by Dione Carrington
Base code by Andrew Sutherland, edited by Iselin Merilä and Desmond Gray.