Republican Sen.
Tom Cotton of Arkansas has described slavery as a "necessary evil".
The 1619 Project is an initiative from The New York Times, according to reports CNN.
It reframes American history of August 1619, when the first slave ship arrived on America's shores.
"As the founding fathers said, it was the necessary evil upon which the union was built." Tom Cotton
Cotton then called the 1619 Project "a racially divisive, revisionist account of history."
Cotton now claims he was citing the views of America's founding fathers, rather than his own.
However, Cotton introduced legislation to prevent funding for schools that teach the 1619 Project.
"(The 1619 Project) denies the noble principles of freedom and equality on which our nation was founded.
Not a single cent of federal funding should go to indoctrinate young Americans with this left-wing garbage."
There is no record of any Founding Fathers arguing US slavery was a "necessary evil."
