Every new president of the U.S. has brought with him a new vision of the country’s relation to the world, from near total abstention to “the world’s policeman.” When Nixon sat down for an informal chat with several reporters in Guam, a small island in the South Pacific, the “world’s policeman” policy was killing three hundred soldiers daily in Vietnam and leading to widespread protests at home. Against that backdrop, Nixon outlined his own vision of international relations, which the press quickly dubbed the “Guam Doctrine.”

On this day. February 18, in 1970, four weeks after taking office, President Nixon sent his first report to Congress laying out his foreign policy. That was the official start of the Guam Doctrine.According to Nixon, the United States did not need to involve itself in every conflict of every nation around the world.

The U.S. would henceforth keep away its own forces from overseas wars, but would contribute supplies and financial assistance to allies. The “containment” policy against communism failed in Vietnam, as the South of the country fell to communist forces of North Vietnam shortly after the American withdrawal.