HISTORY: America has had rough transitions of power before

Conquering K2 in winter, remembering MLK, Napoleon’s gift to scholars, talking to kids about the inauguration [HISTORY]( [VIEW ONLINE]( [HISTORY]( [National Geographic]( [TODAY'S BIG TOPIC:]( [THE MESSY HANDOFF]( Monday, January 18, 2021 PHOTOGRAPH BY NINA BERMAN, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC By Debra Adams Simmons, HISTORY Executive Editor The power vacuum at the start of the Civil War. A deepening of the Great Depression. History tells us that America has weathered turbulent transitions of power before this week’s Trump-to-Biden turnover in Washington, D.C. This week's inauguration comes with [unprecedented security]( after a violent mob took over the Capitol on January 6 to try to thwart the election certification. It comes amid a pandemic that has taken nearly 400,000 American lives in less than a year. But consider these messy transitions in the past: Outgoing President James Buchanan stood by in 1860 as Southern states prepared to leave the Union, maintaining that it was “beyond the power of any president” to do anything about it—and saddling the incoming Abraham Lincoln with the Civil War. Another lame-duck president deliberately sabotaged an incoming administration and pushed the nation into the economic depression known as [the Panic of 1893](. The transition during another economic crisis in early 1933 was so bad Congress moved up future inaugurations from March to January. Nat Geo’s Amy McKeever [provides perspective]( with her look at these rough transitions, and the frenzied—or lackadaisical—last days of lame duck leaders. That said, we’ve never had an outgoing president whipping up a violent effort to stop the transition, or the kind of military display to try to prevent other violent disturbances, [writes Robert Draper](. “When and how this crisis ends is anything but clear,” Draper says. PHOTOGRAPHS BY DAVID GUTTENFELDER Pictured above, photographer David Guttenfelder, [as part of a story]( that took him to Washington from Minnesota—and the scene of George Floyd’s killing—captured the images of a porchfront New Year’s/COVID-19 decoration in Schellsburg, Pennsylvania, and a deserted hotel snack area in Columbus City, Indiana. Not all of Washington [is fenced off](. In Dupont Circle, Winter Smith, 6, prepared for a picnic (below) with her mother, Sydney Smith, and aunt, Mikaela Smith. "We would like to be able to celebrate the inauguration, but we can't go," Mikaela Smith [told us](. Do you get this newsletter daily? If not, [sign up here]( or forward to a friend. PHOTOGRAPH BY ANDREA BRUCE, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TODAY IN A MINUTE A first: Only one of the world's 14 highest mountains had not been summited in winter. That ended Saturday, when climbers ascended the 28,251 feet of the treacherous Himalayan peak K2. Two Nepali climbing groups joined forces for the effort, and stepped onto the summit of the world's second highest mountain together, [Nat Geo's Freddie Wilkinson reports](. Increasingly fragile America: The United States is among 20 countries where pressures have grown significantly in the past decade in ways that potentially undermine stability. That’s the result of the [Fragile States Index]( produced annually by the nonprofit organization Fund for Peace. The U.S. shows a stark drop in what the index labels as cohesion, an indicator that reflects internal divisions. For now, existing vaccines work: The COVID-19 vaccines [should cover recently discovered variants]( the virus. Scientists caution that they are basing their judgment on early signs—and early mutations. Nat Geo’s Michael Greshko [reminds us]( “The best way to keep existing vaccines relevant is to stop the virus's spread as much as possible. ... The more SARS-CoV-2 replicates, the more variants will spawn.” How to talk to kids about the inauguration: Can you convey enough about the importance of this fraught changeover so kids are not surprised—but not shocked, either? Nat Geo Kids [talked to parenting experts for their views](. “The idea that it’s going to automatically be a safe and peaceful transition of power is something we can no longer take for granted,” says Alyssa Westring, co-author of Parents Who Lead. “That’s reason to be scared, even as adults.” PHOTOGRAPH BY CENTRAL PRESS/GETTY IMAGES Remembering MLK: This year’s holiday commemorating slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. comes without many of the usual annual parades and in-person celebrations because of COVID-19 and the closure of much of central Washington, D.C. ahead of the inauguration. However, [Washington Post columnist Colbert King]( says it comes two days before a moment that would have been a moment of joy for MLK: the ascension of Kamala Harris as America’s first Black and Asian vice president. In other MLK news, an anonymous donor gave $40 million to put students through law school [provided they work as civil rights lawyers in the South]( the NAACP announced. Also, a new memorial to King will open this fall in Boston: A stirring 22-foot-high bronze sculpture of King and Coretta Scott King, designed by Hank Willis Thomas. [See it here!]( (Pictured above, King addressing crowds at the March On Washington at the Lincoln Memorial in 1963.) From the magazine: [Where the streets have MLK’s name]( INSTAGRAM PHOTO OF THE DAY PHOTOGRAPH BY JUAN ARREDONDO, [@JUANARRE]( Honoring nature: Members of the Nasa Indigenous community gather for the ceremony of Saakhelu Kiwe Kame in northern Cauca, Colombia. The annual sacred celebration maintains the harmony and integrity of the community. The Saakhelu is a sacred tree where offerings are placed to the Andean condor, the hummingbird, moon, sun, rain, the wind, fire, the spirits of the seeds, and Mother Earth. Go deeper: [Indigenous protectors show sacred peaks they long kept secret]( THE BIG TAKEAWAY AKG/ALBUM What Napoleon brought: When the French leader conquered Egypt, he brought along historians and other scholars. They developed the foundations of Egyptology. Why? Napoleon thought the glory of ancient Egypt could be harnessed to exalt French power, [Nat Geo History reports](. (Pictured above, Jean-Léon Gérôme’s painting “Bonaparte Before the Sphinx.” The painting now is in Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California.) [SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE]( IN A FEW WORDS [QUOTE] Should I have come here? But going back was impossible ... I had fled one insecurity and embraced another Richard Wright Author, [Black Boy]( From, [The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration]( DID A FRIEND FORWARD THIS TO YOU? On Tuesday, George Stone covers travel. If you’re not a subscriber, [sign up here]( to also get Victoria Jaggard on science, Rachael Bale on animal news, and Whitney Johnson on photography. LAST GLIMPSE BRIDGEMAN/ACI Secrets of the pharaohs: How did politics work 3,300 years ago? We can glean clues from these letters on 382 Egyptian clay tablets. Long before Machiavelli sought to explain how power works, the Amarna Letters gave an inside look at Egyptian diplomacy, revealing how power brokers maneuvered, alliances were forged, and pharaohs were flattered, [Nat Geo’s History magazine reports](. (Pictured above, an image of scribes jotting down the words of the powerful in a relief from the Tomb of Horemheb, Saqqara, circa 1400 B.C.) [SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE]( This newsletter has been curated and edited by David Beard, and Jen Tse has selected the photos. Kimberly Pecoraro and Gretchen Ortega helped produce this. Have an idea or a link? We'd love to hear from you at david.beard@natgeo.com. Thanks for reading, and happy trails. 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