Education
He attended the public schools. He studied law.
United States representative politician
He attended the public schools. He studied law.
He worked in a printing office. He was admitted to the bar in 1846 and practiced. He served as prosecuting attorney of Darke County, Ohio, in 1848.
He moved to Marion, Indiana, in 1851 and engaged in the practice of law.
He established the Marion Journal in 1851. McDowell was elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-eighth Congress (March 4, 1863 – March 3, 1865).
He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1864 to the Thirty-ninth Congress. He served as delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1876.
He engaged in the practice of law in Marion, Indiana, until his death in that city April 18, 1887.
He was interred in Odd Fellows Cemetery.