The Field Columbian Museum was born as a direct result of the 1893 Fair. The call to build "a great museum" came at a key moment in the Western study of past and present human societies, cultural practices, and beliefs. European and U.S. universities were beginning to establish formal departments and educational programs in anthropology, archaeology, and sociology. Encouraged and inspired by great advances in the biological and physical sciences, scholars were eager to establish more rigorous disciplines, academic programs, and professional standards for the study of human societies. Much of this enthusiasm was no doubt encouraged by the contact that colonial officials and wealthy travelers had with groups of people very different from those they left at home. Discoveries related to the deep history of evolution of life on earth suggested to many that the great diversity of human societies and cultures might present a microcosm of human evolutionary development on the planet. Although this perspective would prove fundamentally incorrect with regard to contemporary human groups, it had great effects upon exhibitions at the World's Columbian Exposition and early exhibits at the Field Columbian Museum.

Putnam recognized the long-term possibilities and national historic, artistic, cultural, and scientific value of the collections under his charge. As early as November 28, 1891, he publicly proposed that the Collections should constitute the core of a new anthropology museum in Chicago. Two years later, the WCE's Directorate agreed. On August 7, 1893, the Directorate called a public meeting "to adopt measures to establish in Chicago a great museum that shall be a fitting memorial of the World's Columbian Exposition and a permanent advantage and honor to the city."


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