A Kansas University history professor will give a talk and sign copies of his new book, “Jacksonian Antislavery and the Politics of Free Soil, 1824-1854,” 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vt.

In the book, Earle shines new light on the politics of the pre-Civil War free soil movement. He argues that, contrary to widely held historical tradition, the antislavery movement’s focus on free soil policies was not a retreat from its ideals of emancipation, but rather served to link the antislavery agenda to a land reform campaign based on Jacksonian principles of property ownership and political equality. As a result, drastic political realignments occurred which advanced the antislavery cause and increased the sectional tensions that led to the Civil War.

Earle is an associate professor of U.S. history at KU and associate director for academic programming at the Dole Institute of Politics.

The Raven Bookstore will make books available for purchase. The event is free and open to the public.

• Also this week: KU professor Deborah Gerner will address the topic of justice and reconciliation in Palestine and Israel in a reading, lecture and discussion 7 p.m. Wednesday at the library.

Gerner, a KU political science professor, is a widely published and international expert on Arab-Israeli relations, U.S. foreign policy, conflict resolution and human rights.