This short story of "Rip Van Winkle" was written in what period?

The story of Rip Van Winkle was written by Washington Irving in 1818 and published in 1819. However, the important point is the time period during which the story take place. Irving doesn't minutely specify dates in the story, but Rip falls asleep before the American Revolution has been thought of and awakes after it is completed and the United States has become an independent country.
Irving's intent is to highlight the contrasts between the two time periods. Rip, who is treated as an old man when he returns from his long sleep, represents the old order, when New York was no more than a British colony under King George III. Like Rip, the colonies were apathetic, happy-go-lucky, unfocused, and willing to be henpecked. The new country, however, is vigorous, awake, and manly, having taken its destiny into it own hands. Rip, on coming home, stumbles into an election, a sign of the new energy of the young republic.
To the extent the publication date of the story is significant, it represents a period in which the United States was establishing its origin myths as a white, masculine, vigorous, expanding nation. Irving's stories contribute to that mythos.