New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1858-09-22

Some men are born greats Others achieve great
ness; others have greatness thrust upon them.
To this latter class We must assign bred Scott,
whose death has been announced by telegraph, and
whose name, for two years past, has resounded
from one end Of the Union to the other and is at
this moment so often repeated in the great elec.
Pioneering canvass now going on in Illinois. So far
from having been born great bred Scott was born
negro slave; and not only that, but he was born
in Virginia This fact not only settled the ques-
ton in the negative as to his being born great, it
also placed an inyincibe obstacle, whatever might
have been his natural talents and endowments, in
the way of his achieving greatness. There are
countries in which even negro slave
stands chance to rise to social EN-
inence and position, and to make for himself
both name and fame. But here, in these demo-
cratic United States to be born negro slave is TO
be cut of from all possible chances of that sort.
The only chance, therefore, for bred Scott was to
have greatness thrust upon hm-a business under.
taken by the Supreme Court Of Missouri, and car.
red to the point of perfect by the Supreme
Court of the United States. Had the Supreme
Court of Missouri followed the opinion of its own
Chief Justice and by far the abest as well as the
most honest man on it's bench, by confirming the
Judgment of the Circuit Court of 81. Louis, by
which he was declared freeman, the world
never would have heard of bred Scott. He
would have died no less obscurely free
man than he had lived ObscurelY slave.
Ii was the Supreme Court of Missouri which by
insisting upon keeping him a slave, first brought
him into public notice. But the Supreme Court
of the United States made him famous, and they
took particular pains TO do 80. They began with
kicking him out of their presence, on the ground
that being a negro born in the United States he
could not sue in their court. Had he been an
alien, although negro be- might have been heard,
but being negro born in the United States, he
had no right to appeal to them, if indeed to any
body else for justice. Had the court stopped here
bred Scott might perhaps have been talked of for
asy. But the Court were resolved 10 secure MIN
more enduring renown. So, having kicked him
on. of court IS having no right to be heard, they
prsceeded nevertheless TO decide his ease, not for
the purpose Of keeping him slave, for their re-
fasal TO hear him would have accomplished that,
but for the purpose of setting aside the
Missouri Compromise, opening az the Territories
sf the United States 10 Slavery, and pronouncns
the incapacity of Congress or anybody else TO pre-.
vent Slavery from being planted In any Territory
Of the United States present or future, into which
,ny stakeholder or combinAtioa u ssvehosders
might choose TO carry it. From this moment the
nsme of bred Scott became a household word in
our politics. and so it will remsin 40 long as the
contest between Slsveholdine and Free Labor shall
continue. In fact, it viii be- mainly by having
associated their names with that Of this humble
negro, and BY having attempted to strike through
him blow at Free Labor, that the Judges who
pronounced this decision will 6Dd place in history.