Washington Irving skillfully reflects American history in his 1819 piece “Rip Van Winkle.” Unbeknownst to Rip Van Winkle, the colonies are now free from British rule, as Irving writes: “Here a general cry broke out from the bystanders: 'A Tory! a Thorium! a spy! A refugee! push it! Away with him'” (Matthews, 2007, para. 36). Rip enters the village armed, unaware that he presents the appearance of a loyalist. The issue of being a refugee trumps accusations of being a Tory, as a colonial refugee would not claim British loyalty, which Rip did openly by saying "'...And a loyal subject of the King, God bless him'" (Matthews , 2007, para 35). If Rip had not been vindicated by someone who once knew him, an inevitable assault might have occurred. Rip is cleared of being a spy and questions the changes to the village he once knew so well. Irving says, “Yet he recognized on the sign the ruby ​​face of King George…this too was singularly metamorphosed…and beneath it was painted in large characters, GENERAL WASHINGTON” (Matthews, 2007, para. 33). Rip becomes confused as he notices the changes in the sign where George Washington replaces King George III. The sign symbolizes and validates the colonists' freedom from Britain, where a monarchy replaces democracy. With the conclusion of the Revolutionary War came the replacement of the government of King George III with the presidency of George Washington. As the war ends victoriously with the freedom of the American colonists, Irving writes, “'Oh, she died a little while ago, too...' There was at least a modicum of comfort in this intelligence” (Matthews, 2007, para. 54 ). Simply put, Rip's wife died, thus earning him his freedom. This parallels his... half of paper......58/Lancashire, I. (2005). Retrieved October 10, 2010, from http://www.puritansermons.com/poetry/anne13.htmMatthews, B. (2005). Rip Van Winkle: A Posthumous Writing of Diedrich Knickerbocker by Washington Irving. Retrieved February 1, 2007, from http://www.bartleby.com/195/4.htmlMelville, H. (1955). Moby Dick. New York, NY: New American Library. Quidor, J. (2011). In the Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved March 14 from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/487273/John-QuidorThe Virtual Union. (2011). Bring TV to the world on your side. Retrieved April 1, 2011, from http://scrapetv.com/News/News%20Pages/Health/Pages/Doctor-pioneering-use-of-Comas-on-demand-Scrape-TV-The-World-on-your- side.htmlWordPress. (2007). Young Goodman Brown. Retrieved April 1, 2011, from http://garble.wordpress.com/2007/11/27/young-goodman-brown/