The draft laws allowed substitutes , meaning the rich could get out of serving in the army. this naturally made those who could't afford a substitute to be angered . ( typically, substitutes could be purchased for $300 -- and $300 in 1863 was a bout the equivalent to almost $6,000 in modern terms. <span />
During the Gilded Age, most laborers were considered to be in the working class. inequality and social ills as the working classes and poor were forced to work more and more for less and less.