Final answer:
The preference for short staple cotton over long staple cotton came after the invention of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney in 1793, due to the gin's ability to efficiently process short staple cotton.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that short staple cotton was preferred to long staple prior to the invention of the cotton gin is False. Before the invention of the cotton gin, long staple cotton was more desirable because it was easier to process by hand. The cotton gin, invented by Eli Whitney in 1793, was a significant innovation that made it possible to efficiently remove the seeds from short staple cotton, which was more abundant but harder to process. As a result, after the cotton gin's invention, short staple cotton became widely used and preferred due to the ease with which it could be processed.