Irving might be suggesting that the American Revolution brought about great changes to the country. Rip Van Winkle falls asleep for twenty years and misses the entire American Revolution. When he wakes, he is shocked by the ways in which America has been transformed. For example, people no longer serve under the British king but are loyal to their president, George Washington. In addition, people are voting, which is something he has never done before.
Irving implies that having missed just these twenty years makes someone hopelessly out of date in America, as it has changed so greatly in that time period. It has gone from being part of the British empire to being its own democratic nation. Rip is completely out of date and can't fathom the immense changes that his country has undergone while he was sleeping.
One of the observations which stands out in reading "Rip Van Winkel" is the sheer contrast which Irvings makes between colonial life and the post-Revolutionary War era. Life in the colonial era is described as largely tranquil (with the notable exception of Winkel's wife). Also, consider the small inn and the personage of Nicholas Vedder, described in the tale as "a patriarch of the village," surrounded by "his adherents . . . (for every great man has adherents)." Just as the George III (whose image hangs on the wall) rules the empire, so does Vedder rule the inn. There does, then, seem to be a kind of static peacefulness in this time period, which is joined with a kind of aristocratic traditionalism.
Contrast that with the scene that follows as Rip Van Winkel returns from his sleep in the Catskills. The scene is suddenly much more vibrant. The town is described as larger, with new houses and faces that are unfamiliar to Rip. As Irving writes, "the very character of the people seemed changed. There was a busy, bustling tone about it, instead of the accustomed drowsy tranquility." It is far more active, the people are more passionate and opinionated, with a sharp and passionate interest in politics. That aristocratic quality has been replaced with a more democratic spirit, which can risk becoming unruly—consider the distress Van Winkel is put under when they start suspect him of being a Tory, for example, and how the crowd nearly dissolves into a frenzy. Nevertheless, it's clear within Irving's account that the entire town has undergone a startling transformation, becoming much more animated (politically and emotionally) than it had been before the war.
Iriving's story illustrates that the Revolutionary War and the democracy it brought woke people up. It roused them from the deep sleep or stupor in which they had been living under British rule.
Rip van Winkle is the symbol of the sleepy old ways. He drifts through life without any ambition, lets his wife (like Britain with the colonies) push him around, and would rather sit in front of the inn talking than do anything useful. Finally, he literally falls asleep for twenty years.
By the time he wakes up, America has won the Revolution and democracy is in place. Apathetic people like him are obsolete. He comes back to a village that is newly bustling and bursting with life exactly because its men have become citizens of a republic and participants in a democracy. They are energized by an upcoming election and the chance to have their voices heard in a representative government.
Irving is contributing in this tale to building the American mythology. Democracy and the break from Great Britain are depicted as all good. The Revolution was nothing but positive because it brought men (it would be men only participating with the vote in this democracy) from an apathetic stupor to vigorous activity.
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