4 Things We Learned From J.K. Rowling’s Third HISTORY OF MAGIC IN NORTH AMERICA Short

J.K. Rowling released the third entry in The History of Magic In North America web series, which covers a horrific time in American wizarding history that lead to a controversial law and big biases in the magical community. Oh boy.

Read it now!

1) The wizarding world of America has already had a female president, thank you very much!

While the No-maj of America have yet to see a female president, the wizarding community had one as early as 1790! Emily Rappaport was the President of MACUSA that year. J.K. Rowling doesn’t say she was first female president either, so gender equality in the wizarding world was leaps and bounds above where No-Maj America is even today.

2) American wizarding money is called “Dragots”.

Just as their are pounds and dollars, there are Galleons and Dragots! The wizarding equivalent of the Secretary of the Treasury, known as the Keeper of Treasure and Dragots, is responsible for keeping the currency as balanced as possible. No word on whether that pesky “t” is silent or not!

3) The secret of magic was almost completely exposed due to a vain young witch in love.

Dorcus Twelvetrees, daughter of the Keeper of Treasure and Dragots in 1790, nearly exposed the whole wizarding world when she gave the in-depth secrets of MACUSA and the magical community to a boy she fancied named Bartholomew Barebone. It turns out Bartholomew was a descendant of Scourers mentioned in the last entry as magical criminals who hid among No-Maj families and convinced their descendants that magic is both real and the darkest evil. He started to spread the news of the wizarding world, even using Dorcus’ wand as proof, and included exact locations where those who feared magic could hunt down wizards. Bartholomew was eventually arrested and imprisoned when he accidentally attacked No-Majs during his campaign, but the effects were so devastating that the MACUSA had to relocate and…

4) Rappaport’s Law forbade the magical community from interacting with the No-Maj except when absolutely necessary.

Though the No-Maj and wizarding communities had a great relationship up to that point, Dorcus’ actions lead to Rappaport’s Law, which forbade witches and wizards from befriending or marrying No-Maj. In fact, they could only interact with No-Maj when absolutely necessary. The punishments for breaking the law were harsh. As such, many wizards in the era began to look at the No-Maj community as “the enemy” in ways that magical communities in other parts of the world did not.

Will the effects of Rappaport’s Law clear up by the time Newt Scamander comes to 1920s New York City in Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them? Hopefully, we’ll find out in the final installment in J.K. Rowling’s The History of Magic In North America entry coming tomorrow!

In case you missed it, check out what we learned from the first and second installments!

jk rowling magic in north america

By Molly

Molly is a proud Canadian who is currently attending university in Scotland. She loves to read, write, watch films, and talk about Sarah J. Maas books. If not snuggled up with a book, Molly can usually be found tapping at the dance studio, or writing yet another essay.