Creating the Declaration of Independence

With Creating the Declaration of Independence DAVID SHESTOKAS takes you into the minds of Richard Henry Lee, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson in the weeks before July 4, 1776. Experience Lee's trepidation as he knows when he proposes American Independence to the Second Continental Congress that he is literally risking beheading. Join Adams and Jefferson at City Tavern as they begin crafting the Declaration and follow the story of how Jefferson came to reluctantly draft the Declaration when few others, including Adams thought that Jefferson's assignment was important. You'll even learn a shortcut Jefferson used to craft a document of such immortality on such short notice and how that short cut affects the work of the Supreme Court today.

David Shestokas earned his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Bradley University and his Juris Doctor from The John Marshall Law School, cum laude, while serving on The John Marshall Law Review. Additionally, he studied comparative le-gal systems at Trinity College in Dublin, Ire-land. He has been admitted to practice law in both state and federal courts in Illinois and Florida. As a prosecutor and criminal defense attorney for more nearly thirty years, he has lived with the Constitution in the courtroom daily. As an Assistant State's Attorney for Cook County, IL he appeared in court on more than 10,000 criminal prosecutions. While on the Felony Review Unit, he participated in police investigations and made charging decisions in more than 400 felony cases. In 1992, after the Republic of Lithuania regained its independence from the Soviet Union, Mr. Shestokas joined attorneys of Lithuanian heritage from around the world as a member of the First World Congress of Lithuanian Lawyers. The Lithuanian President, government officials, and the Lithuanian Bar worked with that Congress to re-store the rule of law and a constitutional government after four generations of Soviet occupation. Mr. Shestokas is the author of the book, Constitutional Sound Bites, which grew from his weekly radio show, Constitutionally Speaking, and his website, Constitutional Legal Education and News. The website has more than 380,000 annual visitors. His readership is balanced across partisan, economic, ethnic and philosophical persuasions. He resonates with today's readers, be they scholars, teachers, young students, immigrants, history buffs, or the general public, as his style is direct and easy to understand in twenty-first century phrasing; while retaining the integrity of the American Founders. Along with volunteering at the Salvation Army providing pro bono legal services for the homeless, David has also given his time at the Quality Life Center to educate at-risk youth about the values ingrained in America's Founding. Mr. Shestokas' has also collaborated with Dr. Berta Arias, past President, Illinois Latino Council on Higher Education to produce Cápsulas Informativas Constitucionales, the first and only book about the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights, designed for the 36,000,000 Americans who are more comfortable reading in Spanish.