Scott was born at Kincardine, Canada West to American parents who were temporarily visiting the town.

[3] In 1893, he visited Egypt where he met Columbia University professor Nicholas Murray Butler.

[3] Following his return to the United States, Scott practiced law at Los Angeles, California from 1894 to 1899.

[3] He founded the law school at the University of Southern California in 1886, and was its dean until 1889 when his participation in the Spanish–American War interrupted that role.

[3] He served as secretary of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and wrote several works on the Hague Conferences of 1899 and 1907 (1908, 1909, 1915).