as the sharecroppers sort the tobacco leaves, maude, one of their leaders, explains the general unfairness of life to them ("necessity"). senator rawkins arrives informing finian and the sharecroppers that, by living with black people, they are breaking the law and must leave. outraged at the senator's bigotry, sharon tells him 'i wish to god you were black!' while unknowingly standing over the gold. the senator is transformed into a black man and chased off the property by the sheriff, who is unaware of the transformation. woody brings news to rainbow valley that there is gold on their land, and the shears-robust shipping company has offered them all a free charge account. insisting that credit is better than wealth, woody and finian tell them to use their new free credit rather than dig the gold. the group celebrates "that great come-and-get-it day".