One direct economic consequences of depression was : unemployment. During depression, a lot of business go bankrupt because they cannot afford to pay off their debt. As more and more businesses go under, a lot of people started to lose their job and couldn't afford to support their family
The larger goal was uniting Americans around the war effort.
Cracking down on dissent would be a negative action in support of the larger, positive goal the government sought. The government wanted a fully united public in support of the war, and so it put out the message that that freedom of speech might have its limits in times of war.
