The wizards of America had played their part in the Great War of
1914-1918, even if the overwhelming majority of their No-Maj compatriots were
ignorant of their contribution. As there were magical factions on both sides,
their efforts were not decisive, but they won many victories in preventing
additional loss of life, and in defeating their magical enemies.
This common endeavour led to no softening on MACUSA’s stance on
No-Maj/wizard fraternisation, and Rappaport’s Law remained firmly in place. By
the 1920s the US wizarding community had become used to existing under a
greater degree of secrecy than their European counterparts and to selecting
their mates strictly from within their own ranks.
The memory of Dorcus Twelvetrees' catastrophic breach of the Statute of
Secrecy had entered magical language, so that being ‘a Dorcus’ was slang for an
idiot or inept person. MACUSA continued to impose severe penalties on those who
flouted the International Statute of Secrecy. MACUSA was also more intolerant
of such magical phenomena as ghosts, poltergeists and fantastic creatures than
its European equivalents, because of the risk such beasts and spirits posed of
alerting No-Majs to the existence of magic.
After the Great Sasquatch Rebellion of 1892 (for full details, see Ortiz
O’Flaherty’s highly-acclaimed book Big Foot’s Last Stand), MACUSA headquarters
was relocated for the fifth time in its history, moving from Washington to New
York, where it remained throughout the 1920s. President of MACUSA throughout
the decade was Madam Seraphina Picquery, a famously gifted witch from Savannah.
By the 1920s Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry had been
flourishing for more than two centuries and was widely considered to be one of
the greatest magical education establishments in the world. In consequence of
their common education, all witches and wizards are proficient in the use of a
wand.
Legislation introduced at the end of the nineteenth century meant that
every member of the magical community in America was required to carry a ‘wand
permit’, a measure that was intended to keep tabs on all magical activity and
identify the perpetrators by their wands. Unlike Britain, where Ollivanders was
considered unbeatable, the continent of North America was served by four great
wandmakers.
Shikoba Wolfe, who was of Chocktaw descent, was primarily famous for
intricately carved wands containing Thunderbird tail feathers (the Thunderbird
is a magical American bird closely related to the phoenix). Wolfe wands were
generally held to be extremely powerful, though difficult to master. They were
particular prized by Transfigurers.
Johannes Jonker, a Muggle-born wizard whose No-Maj father was an
accomplished cabinet maker, turned himself into an accomplished wandmaker. His
wands were highly sought after and instantly recognisable, as they were usually
inlaid with mother-of-pearl. After experimenting with many cores, Jonker’s
preferred magical material was hair of the Wampus cat.
Thiago Quintana caused ripples through the magical world when his sleek
and usually lengthy wands began entering the market, each encasing a single
translucent spine from the back of the White River Monsters of Arkansas and
producing spells of force and elegance. Fears about over-fishing of the
monsters were assuaged when it was proven that Quintana alone knew the secret
of luring them, a secret he guarded jealously until his death, at which point
wands containing White River Monster spines ceased production.
Violetta Beauvais, the famous wandmaker of New Orleans, refused for many
years to divulge the secret core of her wands, which were always made of swamp
mayhaw wood. Eventually it was discovered that they contained hair of the
rougarou, the dangerous dog-headed monster that prowled Louisiana swamps. It
was often said of Beauvais wands that they took to Dark magic like vampires to
blood, yet many an American wizarding hero of the 1920s went into battle armed
only with a Beauvais wand, and President Picquery herself was known to possess
one.
Unlike the No-Maj community of the
1920s, MACUSA allowed witches and wizards to drink alcohol. Many critics of
this policy pointed out that it made witches and wizards rather conspicuous in
cities full of sober No-Majs. However, in one of her rare light-hearted
moments, President Picquery was heard to say that being a wizard in America was
already hard enough. ‘The Gigglewater’, as she famously told her Chief of
Staff, ‘is non-negotiable.’
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