Where lies the American Romanticism in "Rip Van Winkle"?

One of the aspects of this excellent tale that we can
definitely link into American Romanticism is the way that American Romanticism sought to
take myths and legends and update them to the challenges and issues facing the new
America as a nation. We see this distinctly in this text and in the short fiction of
Washington Irving as a whole, who read the German Romantics and found inspiration in
folklore and legends. This borrowing from the European past in his work is given a new,
up-to-date spin as he gives it a new voice and a focus on the issues facing America.
This can be seen as the legend of Rip Van Winkle is used to comment critically on the
Civil War, as nothing much seems to have changed except the exchange of portraits as
King George is replaced by George Washington.

In addition,
we can say that the depiction of nature is an important aspect of American Romanticism.
Rip Van Winkle is a man who seeks out nature as a solace to the harshness of his wife
and the poverty of his situation in town. He and his dog deliberately find peace and
tranquility in nature as opposed to the chaos of town life. Note the following
description of his reasons for leaving town:

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Poor Rip was at last reduced almost to despair,
and his only alternative, to escape from the labour of the farm and the clamour of his
wife, was to take gun in hand and stroll away into the
woods.

Nature is seen as an
antidote to the worries and pressures of modern living, which is seen in the treatment
that Rip Van Winkle experiences from his wife and his money
worries.