After studying at Mercer University, McWhorter worked as a planter in Greene County and was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 1847, in which he served until the Civil War began in 1861.

Upon joining the Confederate Army, McWhorter organized Company C ("Dawson Grays") of the 3rd Georgia Volunteer Infantry regiment as Captain on April 24, 1861.

[3] Representatives met in the new capital city of Atlanta, where the legislative session was held in an opera house on Marietta Street rented from H.I.

[3] After McWhorter presided over the House for one term, Democrats regained the majority and replaced him with James Milton Smith as Speaker.

A great-grandson, Hamilton James McWhorter, Jr., served one term in the Georgia State Senate representing a district that included Oglethorpe County from 1961 to 1962.