We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect
Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the
common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of
Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this
Constitution for the United States of America.
Article. I.
Section. 1. All legislative
Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United
States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.
Section. 2.The
House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every
second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in
each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature.
No Person shall be a Representative who
shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven
Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected,
be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.
Representatives and direct Taxes
shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included
within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be
determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including
those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not
taxed, three fifths of all other Persons [Modified by Amendment XIV].
The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first
Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every
subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law
direct. The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every
thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Representative;
and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire
shall be entitled to chuse three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode-Island and
Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New-York six, New Jersey
four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten,
North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and Georgia three.
When vacancies happen in the
Representation from any State, the Executive Authority thereof shall
issue Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies.
The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.
Section. 3.The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof [Modified by Amendment XVII], for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote.
Immediately after they shall be
assembled in Consequence of the first Election, they shall be divided as
equally as may be into three Classes. The Seats of the Senators of the
first Class shall be vacated at the Expiration of the second Year, of
the second Class at the Expiration of the fourth Year, and of the third
Class at the Expiration of the sixth Year, so that one third may be
chosen every second Year; and if Vacancies happen by Resignation, or
otherwise, during the Recess of the Legislature of any State, the
Executive thereof may make temporary Appointments until the next Meeting
of the Legislature, which shall then fill such Vacancies [Modified by Amendment XVII].
No Person shall be a Senator who shall
not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a
Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an
Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen.
The Vice President of the United States
shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they
be equally divided.
The Senate shall chuse their other
Officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the Absence of the Vice
President, or when he shall exercise the Office of President of the
United States.
The Senate shall have the sole Power to
try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on
Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried,
the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted
without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present.
Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall
not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to
hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United
States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject
to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law.
Section. 4.The
Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and
Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature
thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such
Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators.
The Congress shall assemble at least once in every Year, and such Meeting shall be on the first Monday in December [Modified by Amendment XX], unless they shall by Law appoint a different Day.
Section. 5.Each
House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications
of its own Members, and a Majority of each shall constitute a Quorum to
do Business; but a smaller Number may adjourn from day to day, and may
be authorized to compel the Attendance of absent Members, in such
Manner, and under such Penalties as each House may provide.
Each House may determine the Rules of
its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behaviour, and, with
the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member.
Each House shall keep a Journal of its
Proceedings, and from time to time publish the same, excepting such
Parts as may in their Judgment require Secrecy; and the Yeas and Nays of
the Members of either House on any question shall, at the Desire of one
fifth of those Present, be entered on the Journal.
Neither House, during the Session of
Congress, shall, without the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than
three days, nor to any other Place than that in which the two Houses
shall be sitting.
Section. 6.The
Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their
Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the
United States. They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and
Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance
at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning
from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall
not be questioned in any other Place.
No Senator or Representative shall,
during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil
Office under the Authority of the United States, which shall have been
created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been encreased during such
time; and no Person holding any Office under the United States, shall
be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office.
Section. 7.All
Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of
Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as
on other Bills.
Every Bill which shall have passed the
House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law,
be presented to the President of the United States;[2]
If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his
Objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall
enter the Objections at large on their Journal, and proceed to
reconsider it. If after such Reconsideration two thirds of that House
shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the
Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be
reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall
become a Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be
determined by yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and
against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House
respectively. If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within
ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him,
the Same shall be a Law, in like Manner as if he had signed it, unless
the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return, in which Case it
shall not be a Law.
Every Order, Resolution, or Vote to
which the Concurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives may be
necessary (except on a question of Adjournment) shall be presented to
the President of the United States; and before the Same shall take
Effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be
repassed by two thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives,
according to the Rules and Limitations prescribed in the Case of a Bill.
Section. 8.The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;
To borrow Money on the credit of the United States;
To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;
To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;
To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;
To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;
To establish Post Offices and post Roads;
To promote the Progress of Science and
useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the
exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;
To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;
To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations;
To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;
To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;
To provide and maintain a Navy;
To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;
To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;
To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;
To exercise
exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not
exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and
the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the
United States, and to exercise like Authority
over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State
in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines,
Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings; — And
To make all Laws which shall be
necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers,
and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of
the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.
Section. 9.The
Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now
existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the
Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a
Tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten
dollars for each Person.
The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas
Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or
Invasion the public Safety may require it.
No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.
No Capitation, or other direct, Tax
shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census or Enumeration herein
before directed to be taken.
No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State.
No Preference shall be given by any
Regulation of Commerce or Revenue to the Ports of one State over those
of another; nor shall Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged
to enter, clear, or pay Duties in another.
No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.
No Title of Nobility shall be granted
by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or
Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of
any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any
King, Prince, or foreign State.
Section. 10.No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility.
No State
shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay any Imposts or Duties on
Imports or Exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for
executing it's inspection Laws; and the net
Produce of all Duties and Imposts, laid by any State on Imports or
Exports, shall be for the Use of the Treasury of the United States; and all such Laws shall be subject to the Revision and Controul of the Congress.
No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any Duty of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay.
Article. II.
Section. 1.The
executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of
America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and,
together with the Vice President, chosen for the same Term, be elected,
as follows:
Each State shall appoint, in such
Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors,
equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the
State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative,
or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States,
shall be appointed an Elector.
The Electors shall meet in their
respective States, and vote by Ballot for two Persons, of whom one at
least shall not be an Inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And
they shall make a List of all the Persons voted for, and of the Number
of Votes for each; which List they shall sign and certify, and transmit
sealed to the Seat of the Government of the United States, directed to
the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the
Presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the
Certificates, and the Votes shall then be counted. The Person having the
greatest Number of Votes shall be the President, if such Number be a
Majority of the whole Number of Electors appointed; and if there be more
than one who have such Majority, and have an equal Number of Votes,
then the House of Representatives shall immediately chuse by Ballot one
of them for President; and if no Person have a Majority, then from the
five highest on the List the said House shall in like Manner chuse the
President. But in chusing the President, the Votes shall be taken by
States, the Representation from each State having one Vote; a quorum for
this Purpose shall consist of a Member or Members from two thirds of
the States, and a Majority of all the States shall be necessary to a
Choice. In every Case, after the Choice of the President, the Person
having the greatest Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice
President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal Votes,
the Senate shall chuse from them by Ballot the Vice President [Modified by Amendment XII].
The Congress may determine the Time of
chusing the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes;
which Day shall be the same throughout the United States.
No Person except a natural born
Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption
of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President;
neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have
attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a
Resident within the United States.
In Case of the Removal of the
President from Office, or of his Death, Resignation, or Inability to
discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, the Same shall
devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by Law provide for
the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of the
President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as
President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability
be removed, or a President shall be elected [Modified by Amendment XXV].
The President shall, at stated Times,
receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be
increased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been
elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument
from the United States, or any of them.
Before he enter on the Execution of his
Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation: — "I do
solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of
President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability,
preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
Section. 2.The
President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the
United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called
into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the
Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive
Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective
Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for
Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.
He shall have Power, by and with the
Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds
of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with
the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other
public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other
Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein
otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the
Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as
they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in
the Heads of Departments.
The President shall have Power to fill
up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by
granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next
Session.
Section. 3. He shall from
time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union,
and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge
necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene
both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between
them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to
such Time as he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and
other public Ministers; he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully
executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States.
Section. 4. The President,
Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be
removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason,
Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.
Article. III.
Section. 1. The judicial
Power of the United States shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in
such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and
establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall
hold their Offices during good Behaviour, and shall, at stated Times,
receive for their Services a Compensation, which shall not be diminished
during their Continuance in Office.
Section. 2.The
judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising
under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties
made, or which shall be made, under their Authority; — to all Cases
affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls; — to all
Cases of admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction; — to Controversies to
which the United States shall be a Party; — to Controversies between two
or more States; — between a State and Citizens of another State [Modified by Amendment XI];
— between Citizens of different States; — between Citizens of the same
State claiming Lands under Grants of different States, and between a
State, or the Citizens thereof, and foreign States, Citizens or
Subjects.
In all Cases affecting Ambassadors,
other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be
Party, the supreme Court shall have original Jurisdiction. In all the
other Cases before mentioned, the supreme Court shall have appellate
Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and under
such Regulations as the Congress shall make.
The Trial of all Crimes, except in
Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury; and such Trial shall be held in
the State where the said Crimes shall have been committed; but when not
committed within any State, the Trial shall be at such Place or Places
as the Congress may by Law have directed.
Section. 3.Treason
against the United States shall consist only in levying War against
them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No
Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two
Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.
The Congress shall have Power to
declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall
work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the
Person attainted.
Article. IV.
Section. 1. Full Faith and
Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and
judicial Proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by
general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records and
Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof.
Section. 2.The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.
A Person charged in any State with
Treason, Felony, or other Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and be
found in another State, shall on Demand of the executive Authority of
the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the
State having Jurisdiction of the Crime.
No Person held to Service or Labour
in one State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in
Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such
Service or Labour, but shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to
whom such Service or Labour may be due [Modified by Amendment XIII].
Section. 3.New
States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new
State shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other
State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or
Parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States
concerned as well as of the Congress.
The Congress shall have Power to
dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the
Territory or other Property belonging to the United States; and nothing
in this Constitution shall be so construed as to Prejudice any Claims of
the United States, or of any particular State.
Section. 4. The United
States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of
Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on
Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the
Legislature cannot be convened), against domestic Violence.
Article. V.
The
Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary,
shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of
the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a
Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be
valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when
ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or
by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of
Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided
that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand
eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth
Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate [Possibly abrogated by Amendment XVII].
Article. VI.
All Debts
contracted and Engagements entered into, before the Adoption of this
Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this
Constitution, as under the Confederation.
This Constitution, and the Laws of the
United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties
made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States,
shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State
shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any
State to the Contrary notwithstanding.
The Senators and Representatives before
mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all
executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the
several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this
Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a
Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.
Article. VII.
The Ratification
of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for the
Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the
Same.
The Word, "the," being interlined between the
seventh and eighth Lines of the first Page, The Word "Thirty" being
partly written on an Erazure in the fifteenth Line of the first Page,
The Words "is tried" being interlined between the thirty second and
thirty third Lines of the first Page and the Word "the" being interlined
between the forty third and forty fourth Lines of the second Page.
Attest William Jackson
Secretary
done in Convention by the Unanimous
Consent of the States present the Seventeenth Day of September in the
Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and Eighty seven and of the
Independence of the United States of America the Twelfth In witness
whereof We have hereunto subscribed our Names,
Go. WASHINGTON — Presidt.
and deputy from Virginia
-
New Hampshire {JOHN LANGDON, NICHOLAS GILMAN
Massachusetts {NATHANIEL GORHAM
.RUFUS KING
-
Connecticut {WM. SAML. JOHNSON
,ROGER SHERMAN
-
New York ... ALEXANDER HAMILTON
-
New Jersey {WIL: LIVINGSTON, DAVID BREARLEY. WM. PATERSON. JONA: DAYTON
-
-
Pennsylvania {B FRANKLIN
,THOMAS MIFFLIN
,ROBT MORRIS
,GEO. CLYMER
,THOS. FITZ SIMONS
,JARED INGERSOLL
,JAMES WILSON
,GOUV MORRIS
-
Delaware {GEO: READ, GUNNING BEDFORD jun, JOHN DICKINSON, RICHARD BASSETT, JACO: BROOM
-
Maryland {JAMES MCHENRY
,DAN OF ST THOS. JENIFER, DANL CARROLL
-
Virginia {JOHN BLAIR, JAMES MADISON jr
-
North Carolina {WM. BLOUNT, RICHD. DOBBS SPAIGHT, HU WILLIAMSON
-
South Carolina {J. RUTLEDGE, CHARLES COTESWORTH PINCKNEY
,CHARLES PINCKNEY
,PIERCE BUTLER
-
Georgia {WILLIAM FEW, ABR BALDWIN
-
In Convention Monday, September 17th, 1787.
Present
The States of
New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, MR. Hamilton from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.
Resolved,
That the preceeding Constitution be laid before the United
States in Congress assembled, and that it is the Opinion of this
Convention, that it should afterwards be submitted to a Convention of
Delegates, chosen in each State by the People thereof, under the
Recommendation of its Legislature, for their Assent and Ratification;
and that each Convention assenting to, and ratifying the Same, should
give Notice thereof to the United States in Congress assembled.
Resolved, That it is the Opinion of this Convention, that as soon as the
Conventions of nine States shall have ratified this Constitution, the
United States in Congress assembled should fix a Day on which Electors
should be appointed by the States which have ratified the same, and a
Day on which the Electors should assemble to vote for the President, and
the Time and Place for commencing Proceedings under this Constitution.
That after such Publication the Electors should be appointed, and the
Senators and Representatives elected: That the Electors should meet on
the Day fixed for the Election of the President, and should transmit
their Votes certified, signed, sealed and directed, as the Constitution
requires, to the Secretary of the United States in Congress assembled,
that the Senators and Representatives should convene at the Time and
Place assigned; that the Senators should appoint a President of the
Senate, for the sole purpose of receiving, opening and counting the
Votes for President; and, that after he shall be chosen, the Congress,
together with the President, should, without Delay, proceed to execute
this Constitution.
By the Unanimous Order of the Convention
Go. WASHINGTON — Presidt.
W. JACKSON Secretary.
|
within the very FIRST paragraph of the Constitution we
find "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more
perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide
for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure
the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and
establish this Constitution for the United States of America." Many
Americans of all viewpoints think that the Constitution guarantees
"Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" but of course that is found
in the Declaration of Independence, written 11 years earlier.