We can only speculate on what would have happened had Aldridge performed in New York and other cities in the United States only a few years after the Emancipation Proclamation and the conclusion of the Civil War. Shortly after the announcement of his impending arrival from Europe, the American press began to comment on some of the problems that he and his manager might face. The New Orleans Commercial Bulletin reported in July that “the manager who is to bring to this country on a starring tour Mr. Ira Aldridge, the coloured tragedian, finds a difficulty in getting a ‘leading lady’ to support him.” This was contradicted early in August in a more detailed account published in the New York Clipper:

The New York Times, without offering an opinion on the matter, said only, “We are curious to note his reception. His picture before us represents a full-blooded negro, with crinkly wool, flat nose, thick lips, and skin of the blackest hue, while the decorations on his breast prove him to be [the recipient of many distinguished awards]… . Thus balanced, he will appear before an American audience, and we doubt not the question of the day will be, ‘Have you seen Ira ALDRIDGE?’”