In 1878, the Wisconsin Synod withdrew its demand that the state synods had to be independent of the Missouri or Ohio Synods. The Missouri Synod needed to build a new seminary due to overcrowding at its current campus in St. Louis. Despite considerable planning to build a new joint Synodical Conference seminary near Chicago, the project failed because of hesitance of the part of the Wisconsin Synod and the inability of any of the other members besides Missouri to contribute financially.