In the plessy v ferguson decision supreme court justices claimed that the fourteenth amendment did not protect

The correct answer is social rights.

The Supreme Court case Plessy vs. Ferguson established the idea of "separate but equal" as being legal in American society. The Supreme Court justices in the majority opinion at this time discussed how the 14th amendment only applies to the legal rights of African-American citizens. They argued that Equal protection clause of this amendment had nothing to do with social rights/public segregation.