can have dramatic long term consequences. >> sreenivasan:ing beverly gage, michael beschloss, thank you your perspective. >> yang: stay with us, coming up on the newshour. how a slave helped jack daniel make his whiskey. a story of life, death and redemption, the last in our series of summer reads. and reflecting on true american heroes on this independence day. but first, a pair of n.f.l. players are challenging the league to reconsider its policy on pot when it comes to medical use and particularly to treat pain. katie couric of yahoo news sat down with the players. here's an extended excerpt of her story. >> cannabis is a substance that has been stigmatized for years and that's why i'm so adamant about educating people on the health benefits of it. >> reporter: eugene monroe made headlines when he became the first active player in the n.f.l. to publicly call for the league to change its policy on pot-which is on the banned substance list. >> i'd like to know why the n.f.l. is maintaining such a stern position of the medical value of cannabis when countrywide doctors are prescribing i

. >> historian/author michael beschloss is waiting to talk to us in washington. michael, we know what we just witnessed is history, but tell us how and in what ways. >> well, i think one thing, brian, is that we've been hearing for a few days that this speech was going to be modelled on richard nixon 1968, and there's been sort of a play book for both richard nixon and ronald reagan in 1980, which is you're running against a party that owns the white house and you do it by certainly indicting it, saying the country is not in great shape, but at the same time being somewhat more moderate and presidential and trying to get people to like you. donald trump threw that entirely out the window tonight. you know, what we saw instead was a red meat indictment almost from beginning to end where the core of it was to say you americans have all reasons to feel economically insecure, militarily insecure, insecure in the streets and in your homes and i'm the only person who stands in a position to reverse that. it's something that we really haven't seen in modern times. >> som

presidential historian and author michael beschloss. michael, again, in your line of work you're supposed to be the thoughtful ones. we can argue and fuss and fight and rave in new york and in philadelphia. how do you think this will live beyond tonight and talk about the skills of the president we just saw. >> well, i can make a really flat statement, brian. which is that we have never -- we americans have never heard a stronger convention endorsement speech by any outgoing president of the united states for his preferred successor. that's how this was really unusual tonight. you look at the speeches that someone like for instance ronald reagan gave in 1988 or others earlier in american history. it tends to be sort of a farewell. they go through the highlights of their own administration, how they'd like to be remembered and there are a few nice words for the candidate running that fall. this went so far beyond that. it's like nothing we've ever seen before. it was not only that kind of endorsement mch he went on to give a scathing indi

. >> the eminent historian michael beschloss tweeted "never seen anything quite like this." >> that's when you have to worry. >> beschloss has no precedent, we are in uncharted waters. >> he was talking about that cruz speech. >> that was the most extraordinary moment, the ted cruz speech. when he got to the words vote your conscience. now, was his speech vetted by the trump people and yet they let him get on the stage? >> that's a good point. the trump campaign said today overtly that paul manafort said that he was reading the speech, that he expected to get a final copy of the speech. it is a very interesting decision to have given somebody such incredible primetime real estate and such a big chunk of it if you knew in advance that the speech ended with vote your conscience instead of -- >> that's the equivalent -- >> if you had a guarantee from clint eastwood that what he was going to do is sit there and ramble on a chair. in this case i think at least clint eastwood was a little bit of a surprise. if they knew this is what cruz was going to do. they gave him this chunk of a night

what michael beschloss described as the most enthusiastic endorsement of a successor of any presidentn. any of you had a chance to gauge her reactions to all that? >> i haven't talked to her directly. i don't know if either melanne r or betsy have but i know from people who have that she was over the moon and so pleased and proud and honored. honored i think is the word and humbled as well and i think as melanne said, you'll see her tonight talk about her values. we heard a lot last night about democratic values, the values of the american people. slogans are not the way to go but solutions, optimism and not fear and i think you're going to hear directly from hillary clinton about her values and those will be teed up by chelsea clinton, her daughter, who i really think is the product of the best of both of her parents. >> i think, andrea, we saw on her face last night somehow she felt, deeply honored by what the president had said but what he said was all about what it means to be an american and that's something that she holds dear. the values. i remember so well as i imagine you do

. >> well, michael beschloss, it is always a wonderful opportunity to get to talk to you. you very much. >> thank you, joy. >> can the recent tragedies help us reset the relationship between police and communities of color? dog chow for 36 years now. my dog girlfriend is 17 years old. she's been eating dog chow from her very first day and she can still chase squirrels. she can't catch them, but she can still chase them. after 17 years i'm still confident in feeding her dog chow because i see the high quality ingredients that go into it. i'm very proud to make dog chow right here in edmond, oklahoma. i'm terhe is.at golf. but i'd like to keep being terrible at golf for as long as i can. new patented ensure enlive has hmb plus 20 grams of protein to help rebuild muscle. for the strength and energy to do what you love. new ensure enlive. always be you. that reminds me... anyone have occasional constipation, diarrhea... ...gas, bloating? yes! one phillips' colon health probiotic cap each day helps defend against occasional digestive issues. with three types of good bacteria. l

. >> and joining me now, nbc news presidential historian michael beschloss. and an ohio delegate who has volunteered and fund-raised for hillary clinton's 2008 campaign as well as this current campaign. welcome to you both. i want to start with you, lana. you've known hillary clinton a long time, been on her side for a long time. but you've also been very involved in things like now. what does this milestone mean to you? >> well, it's really the fruition of a lifetime -- my lifetime work in advancing women's equality. i started in 1970 with the equal rights amendment, title 9, and equal credit. and so much more. and this is one of the things, i didn't know -- i knew it would happen eventually, but i didn't know if it would be my lifetime, as we chipped away at the different barriers. >> michael, it's very true that the women's movement has had fits and starts since roe v. wade. but the equal rights amendment was something that never took off. it never happened. there's still a huge pay gap between men and women. put this nomination of a woman for president of

. >> well, michael beschloss in horrific circumstances but it is always a wonderful opportunity to getalk to you. thank you very much. >> thank you, joy. >> after the break, can the recent tragedies begin to help us reset the relationship between police and communities of color? i called for help as soon as i saw her. i found her wandering miles from home. when the phone rang at 5am, i knew it was about mom. i see how hard it's been on her at work and i want to help. for the 5 million americans living with alzheimer's, and millions more who feel its effects. let's walk together to make an even bigger impact and end alzheimer's for good. find your walk near you at alz.org/walk. and i quit smoking with i'm chantix. i had a lot of doubts going in. i was a smoker. hands down, it was, that's who i was. after one week of chantix, i knew i could quit. along with support, chantix (varenicline) is proven to help people quit smoking. chantix definitely helped reduce my urge to smoke. some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts