The Magna Carta, English Bill of Rights, Mayflower Compact and Thomas Paine "Common Sense" influenced the colonists views of government by giving the colonists a sense of individualism, independence and the need for more individual and economic rights. The Magna Carta and English Bill of Rights made the colonists question if the British were providing them with adequate human and financial rights and the Mayflower Compact and "Common Sense" by Thomas Paine re-introduced what being independent from the British would mean.