Julius Wilm

My name is Julius Wilm, and I am a historian specializing in U.S. history and digital approaches to historical research. I grew up in the northernmost part of Northern Germany and studied history in Roskilde, Berlin, and Cologne. Since earning my Ph.D. in Cologne, I have held academic positions at universities and research institutions in Europe and the United States.

My research focuses on the history of settler colonial expansion in the United States, with a particular interest in how internal social tensions within settler societies fueled violence on the frontier and the displacement of Indigenous peoples. My book, Settlers as Conquerors (2018), examines the connections between economic and social dynamics and colonial expansion through the example of free land laws in the antebellum period.

I also explore the use of digital tools in historical research, particularly Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and web mapping, to critically analyze sources and present research findings interactively. While much of my work focuses on homesteading and agricultural development in the U.S. Great Plains and Deep South, I am also interested in applying these methods to European and global history.