<u>Chief Joseph</u> was the one who said that quote when nez perce surrendered in 1877.
Chief joseph was mostly known for leading the fight against american government after the land of their ancestors was forcefully taken by them. Over the course of his effort, he realized that the fight took a lot of lives from the tribe members and causing a lot of misery from the loved ones and that quote really represented his feeling over this pain.
True, the Articles of Confederation gave little power to the central government. The main reason is the central or federal government couldn't tax the states.
