Now, it had a bunch of flaws.

当然这也有不少瑕疵
It gave full citizenship to all Americans, regardless of race,

它将公民权益赋予所有美国人无论种族
creed or color; it said that, the first time ever, in our history.

无论信仰还是肤色这是有史以来第一次
We'd never had a citizenship law.

我们以前从未有过这样的法律
It had never been legally determined who was a U.S. citizen.

我们从未给美国公民作出任何界定
But citizenship had always implied whiteness, and maleness.

通常就简单认为公民权属于白种男性
It now had at least a definition.

但现在它至少有了定义
The problem in it, of course its flaw,

而它也有不少瑕疵
and there would be a flaw and a compromise element

各种瑕疵抑或是其它问题
in almost everything passed in these years--nothing came out pure,

在近几年通过的所有法令中基本都能找到
out of these terrible debates over Reconstruction--

重建进程中从未出现过任何无瑕的事物
its great flaw was that it was directed against

它最大的瑕疵就是它所针对的