ABSTRACT
In May 1896 Emmeline Pankhurst, encouraged by her husband, tore down fences in a public park near Manchester in protest at the curbing of free speech. It was her first public outburst of violence. The local authority, which had previously banned the Independent Labour Party (ILP) from speaking there, had erected fences to stop audiences from congregating in the area. Undeterred, ILP members continued to speak in the park and so were charged, summonsed, put on trial, and imprisoned. Eventually, after a lot of news coverage and various legal battles, the ILP won. This dramatic episode encouraged Emmeline to believe that when respectable middle-class people broke the law, it generated publicity and led to victory.
