Final answer:
The California gold rush contributed to the civil war by accelerating the sectional divide, disrupting the Native American population, and altering the balance between slave and free states.
Step-by-step explanation:
The California gold rush contributed to the civil war in several ways. First, it accelerated the pace of the sectional divide as the discovery of gold created a huge influx of people to California, including those with different views on slavery. The rapid growth of the population in California led to the state applying for statehood, which became a source of tension in Congress during the debate on the extension of slavery.
Second, the gold rush disrupted the Native American population in California and led to a loss of life that some scholars view as a genocide. The influx of settlers and the establishment of mining towns resulted in conflicts between the newcomers and the indigenous peoples.
Finally, the gold rush indirectly contributed to the civil war by altering the balance between slave and free states. The opposition to slavery in the gold fields and the subsequent ban on slavery and involuntary servitude in California's constitution presented a challenge to the concept of popular sovereignty and further escalated tensions between the North and the South.