According to my readings, USA was a colony of great Britain. Belief and attitudes influenced by John Locke became the reason of independence of US. John Locke was important character whose ideas emphasized natural rights to life, liberty, and property, colonists were also influenced by Magna Carta and the English bill of rights. With the English bill of rights and Locke’s philosophy the colonists’ view of individual rights and limited government power were shaped. The colonists believed in self-governance, a tradition that had roots in early colonial legislatures. And when that Britain threatened these beliefs, the American revolution started. It was the start of new nation with a government significantly limited in its power over the people.