What happened during the enlightenment?

Through the leadership or guidance of philosophers such as Voltaire, Locke, and Rousseau growth and understanding of education for all, fair wages with reasonable working hours, and having an awareness of the governing powers became important. Prior to this the working people accepted, for the most part, the lot that they had been given. With the inspiration of these thinkers - they began to question their circumstances and in some cases such as France - to act in protest in order to gain their individual rights as citizens.